WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — Strength in the livestock and poultry sectors, coupled with the launch of new technologies and improvements in the quality of feed, has spurred annual growth of 7% to 10% in the Russian feed sector since 2008, according to a June 6 report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). But the sector continues to be plagued by a variety of issues, including a lack of regulation, outdated facilities and technologies, and insufficient domestic production of acids and vitamins, the USDA report noted.
Between 2008 and 2014 Russia’s feed production grew 12% per year, driven by demand from the poultry and pork industries, according to the Russian Feed Union. In 2015, the feed annual increase in production of feeds compared to 2014 slowed to 4.7%, which the USDA report attributed to the slowing or stabilization of consumer demand in the poultry and pork industries.
In 2016, Russia’s production of compound feeds was estimated at 25.8 million tonnes, about a 4% increase over feed production in 2015, according to the USDA. The Russian Statistical Agency (Rosstat) forecasts that over the next 10 years, the annual growth in feed production will average between 3% and 4%, driven primarily by demand from the pork, livestock and aquaculture industries. The USDA report said it expects total feed production to be about 35 million tonnes by 2025.
Within the forecasted 2025 feed production total, the Russian Feed Union forecasts that feed for poultry will reach 18 million tonnes, feed for pork will reach 15 million tonnes, and feed for livestock will increase to 2 million tonnes.
“The Feed Union estimates feed production for aquaculture in Russia at 150,000 tonnes in 2016, where the share of feed for carp species (the dominant species produced in Russian aquaculture) accounted for 120,000 tonnes, while only 30,000 tonnes of feed was for valuable fish species, such as trout and sturgeon,” the USDA noted in the report. “Currently 90% of feed for valuable species is imported.”
During the Russian Feed Industry Conference in April 2017, Valeriy Afanasyev, president of the Russian Feed Union, spoke about the potential issues that Russia may face to produce feed.
“He emphasized that as a result of the use of non-balanced feed ratios (in terms of proteins and amino acids) animals in Russia often have to consume twice the amount of feed (by volume) compared with the prescribed norms in other countries,” the USDA noted in its report.
According to the report, Afanasyev suggested by adding corn gluten, molasses, dried sugar beet chips, brewers waste and distillers dried grains into the production of feed could help create a better balance of the feed ratio.
“Currently, the Feed Union estimates the share of grain in animal feed in Russia is 70%, compared to only 40% to 45%, on average, in the European Union,” the USDA report said.
The price of grain correlates to the amount of it being included within the feed formula. According to the USDA report, producers choose a feed formula based on ingredient prices and the availability of those ingredients such as fodder grains, soy, vitamins and minerals.
In market year 2015-16 and 2016-17, the supply of fodder grains increased and, as a result, prices for fodder grains decreased, the USDA report said. This supply and demand segment may allow for poultry producers in market year 2017-18 to increase the amount of grain that is usually used in compound feed, the USDA report said.
“Feed for poultry accounted for 56% of the total compound feed production in 2016,” the USDA report said. “This was followed by feed for pork, accounting for 35% of compound feed production and livestock with just over 8% of the total.”
The union forecast that the poultry sector’s need for feed will decrease by 27% but the pork sector will see a 10% increase in demand, the USDA report noted, creating a 39% increase in total compound feed production.
Feed for livestock is forecasted to increase. It will account for a 17% increase total feed production, the USDA report noted.
