Russian export ban on amino acids on the horizon

This step is needed to prevent a possible shortage of these feed amino acids on the Russian market and to support Russian farmers, the Ministry said in an explanatory note to the decree. Their possible shortage would drive up the production costs in the livestock industry, making the farming business less effective. The Ministry estimated the Russian self-sufficiency in lysine at 52%.

Amino acid logistic crisis

The Russian feed additives importers experience problems due to Western sanctions, which triggered a logistics crunch and disrupted supplies of some commodities to the country. Coupled with veterinary restrictions introduced by the Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselhoznadzor on feed additives imported from the EU over the previous 2 years, the logistics crisis sparked fears over a possible shortage of some feed additives on the internal market.

Amino acid ban not yet formally approved

The decree still needs to pass a public hearing, an expert assessment, and a government discussion before its formal approval.

Import dependence

In 2021, Russia produced 119,400 tonnes of L-lysine sulphate and 60,800 tonnes of L-lysine monochloride. The overall demand for these commodities currently ranges between 110,000 and 120,000 tonnes per year each, the Ministry said.

The picture is similar with DL-methionine the production of which reached 25,000 tonnes last year. The current domestic demand stands at 60,000 tonnes per year.

Russia is a net importer of feed amino acids. To meet the domestic demand in 2021 the country imported 43,100 tonnes of lysine and 33,700 tonnes of methionine, data from the Federal Customs Service indicated. On the other hand, the country exported 10,700 tonnes of methionine last year.

The Ministry seeks to allow feed additives exports only to the members of the Eurasia Economic Union (EEU): Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the unrecognised republics of Georgia and Ukraine.

A plea from poultry farmers

In March of 2022, the Russian national union of poultry farmers appealed to the government asking to prohibit feed additive export to all countries outside of the EEU. The Russian poultry farmers also called on the authorities to ban the export of premixes, veterinary drugs, hatching eggs, packages, equipment, as well as wheat and corn.

As it was explained in the appeal, the proposed measures were designed to “mitigate the influence of emerging economic situation on the production costs of poultry meat, and consequently, on the price of poultry products for the Russian population”.