Russia buys big
30/06/2008
Statistics from the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) suggest that Russia’s consumption of imported beef is soaring.
The organisation said in a press release at the end of June that US exports of beef to Russia were showing signs of recovering 2003 llevels, the last year in which Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in cattle was not an issue.
For the second full week in June, beef exports to Russia exceeded the figure for the same week in 2003 by 12%, reaching 14,700 tons. The year-to-date figures still trail 2003's by a long way, but export demand from Russia is clearly recovering.
USMEF’s manager of research and analysis, Erin Daley, pointed out that this also applied to beef supplying countries other than the US.
She said: “The beef market in Russia continues to expand, and has further growth potential. Australia’s exports to Russia totaled 30,749 tons from January through May, compared to 537 tons last year.”
She explained that Brazilian beef supplies to Russia had declined by 18% owing to the presence of Foot and Mouth Disease in some parts of Brazil. As a result, Ms Daley continued, Russia is outbidding the US for Australian and Uruguayan beef, replacing the US as Uruguay’s largest market.
With Russia only just having opened up again as an export market for US beef, it is already showing up as the sixth most important this year, behind Mexico, Canada, Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan.
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