Imports of beef into Russia grew by 10% in 2024

Sergei Mitin, Vice Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian, Food, and Environmental Management Policy, said that meat consumption in Russia totaled 83 kg per person in 2024, and the country still depends on beef imports while it can export poultry and pork.

“We have reached a level at which the target in the Food Security Doctrine for meat [85%] has been met. However, we have problems with exports. We mainly export chicken and pork, but as far as beef is concerned, we imported 350,000 tons last year, an increase of 35,000 tons,” he said.

This is a consequence of the situation in the cattle-raising industry. “The cattle population is declining because families are slaughtering livestock that produce a significant part of the meat. Another worrying factor is that due to genetic breeding techniques, we’re selectively breeding animals in such a way that most are dairy cows, without replenishing beef cattle herds,” he explained.

Under these circumstances, some regions, especially those planning to expand pork production, need to reconsider their production structure, he said. “What will we do with all this pork? That’s the question. This issue could become very serious soon, and it’s necessary to make decisions now. Perhaps it’s time to adjust the production structure,” he said.

According to data from the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), at the end of January this year, the cattle population declined by 4% year on year to 7.44 million head, and the number of cows fell by 3.2% to 3.01 million head. Estimates show that at the end of December 2024, the cattle population in farms of all agricultural producers—agrarian organizations, farmers, and private subsidiary farms—declined by 4.1% year on year to 16.4 million head, and the number of cows dropped by 3.8% to 7.3 million head, reported Eurocarne.