Member of the Union of Meat Processors: the introduction of quotas on the import of meat will have a positive effect on prices prices in Russia and will lead to their fall, predicts a member of the National Union of Meat Processors Sergei Shmelev. In a conversation with Lenta.ru, he clarified that at the moment there is a certain shortage of meat in the country due to African swine fever and bird flu.
Earlier, the subcommittee on tariff regulation supported the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia to introduce tariff quotas for the import of frozen beef and pork into Russia.
Shmelev explained that we are talking about 200 thousand tons of each type of meat.
“We used to say that we have enough pork and poultry, but now we don't have enough meat. First, due to African swine fever and avian flu. The second reason is export. In Vietnam alone, about 50 of our suppliers, pork producers, are registered. Plus, of course, inflation also played a role in the rise in prices. So far, the only question is where exactly we will take meat: we have, if you remember, an embargo on Europe since 2014, but South America has always rescued us with beef, ”the expert noted.
At the same time, he added, that it is impossible to predict exactly how prices will change: everything will depend on where the supplies will go and how they will be distributed.
“There is a huge number of enterprises throughout Russia, it is not yet clear who exactly will command all this. distribution. Honestly, I can’t even imagine how to distribute these 200,000 tons across the regions, ”Shmelev said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture appealed to the Russian government apparatus with a proposal to abolish the import duty on frozen beef and pork. The document proposes to establish a quota of 200 thousand tons for each type of meat. The Ministry of Agriculture noted that the zeroing of duties on this volume of products will help stabilize meat prices on the domestic market.