Dutch poultry equipment supplier severs ties with the Russia

The company not only ceases selling new products but also suspends delivering spare parts and serving already installed equipment in the country, Meyn said in a letter to its customers. The company has not specified the reason, but it is believed that the company is following the lead of the hundreds of other western businesses that opted to pull out from Russia in response to the military conflict in Ukraine.

“75% of Russian poultry farms, jointly accounting for 90% of the country’s production, run on Meyn’s equipment”

The entire industry is affected

The move is expected to be quite painful for the Russian poultry industry. A source who wished to remain anonymous told Vedomosti that 75% of Russian poultry farms, jointly accounting for 90% of the country’s production, run on Meyn’s equipment.

In 2022, Russia manufactured 5.3 million tonnes of poultry meat in live weight, 4% more compared with the previous year, the government’s statistical service, Rosstat, estimated.

Not a new challenge

Russian customers began experiencing problems trying to sign new contracts with Meyn in February 2022, another source in the Russian poultry industry told Vedomosti.

Among other things, the company started requesting information about beneficiaries of equipment buyers and demanded disclosure of financial statements, but even in this case could refuse to sign new agreements. In light of this, the decision to leave Russia is not looking surprising, the source claimed.

Meyn is believed to be the largest western technology provider in the poultry industry that announced its plans to curtail its operations in Russia during the past year.

Since February 2022, Russian poultry farmers have repeatedly been admitting problems with importing equipment, but these were primarily associated with the indirect impact of sanctions against the Russian logistics and banking sectors.

Seeking a solution

Russian poultry farmers acknowledged that Meyn’s departure could make their lives harder. It will require using so-called “replicas” – close copies of the original goods. Such replicas, in theory, can be manufactured in Russia or some countries that Russia deems friendly. However, their production is yet to be established.

Another possible solution is to find a replacement in other markets. Vedomosti reported that some Russian poultry farmers placed their faith in China, which ramped up technology export to Russia in the past year, and Saudi Arabia.