Russia: Pork prices increasing due to ASF

Pork prices over the past six months rose from 3% to 15% in Russia, depending on the region.
According to the statistics of various analytical agencies, prices are rising significantly since the beginning of the year, even in regions not affected by the virus. A sharp increase could be seen in the number of outbreaks of the virus, forcing manufacturers to take unprecedented security measures and spending considerable sums of money on it, resulting in rising of production costs.

The Russian average price of pork in the past six months rose by 4%, while according to some unofficial forecasts, 2012 can bring a price increase of 9% -11%.



According to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the epidemic spread of ASF in Russia caused world prices for pork to increase by 3.4% last month.



Experts estimates that the probability of the spread of the virus into Ukraine this year will be 60%, Kazakhstan 30%, while the probability for the EU from Russia is 15%.



According to official statistics, the growth pace of the pig industry for the last three years is consistently slowing due to ASF. The growth was estimated to 26% in 2009, 14% in 2010 and 4% in 2011. The main factor reducing the performance industry is not the outbreaks of ASF - it is the actions of the authorities that are closing the farm, non-compliance with veterinary requirements.