More demand for DDGS in Russia

The substantial growth is due in large part to the government’s decision to
make agriculture a national priority. Specifically, Kholopov said prior to the
government’s focus on agriculture, it was nearly impossible for livestock and
poultry operators to borrow money for longer than a year. Today, the Russian
government has afforded the industries with loans for up to eight years with
zero percent interest.

Swine industry
transformational
“Russia’s swine industry is in a transformational phase.
This industry was previously very small with operators only feeding a few hogs
at a time. We are seeing that trend shift to a more modernised industry similar
to the United States,” Kholopov said.

The swine industry has doubled in
two years and will likely continue to grow at this pace, increasing the
likelihood of the industry to consume nearly all domestically produced corn. As
a result, leaders in Russia’s poultry industry are looking to US distiller’s
dried grains with solubles, a co-product of US ethanol. Dmitry Lvovich,
assistant to the general director of OGO Group, one of the top three companies
in Russia in terms of elevator capacity, livestock feed output and poultry
production, is attending the Council’s International Distillers Grains
Conference (IDGC) in Indianapolis, Indiana this week.

“I am here (IDGC)
looking for the right supplier of US DDGS to establish a long term
relationship,” said Lvovich. “I am convinced of the value of DDGS as a feed
ingredient due to the US Grains Council providing educational seminars in
Russia.” Lvovich said when a reliable supplier is identified OGO will work
vigorously to get the US company registered to export DDGS to Russia. He said
the biotechnology registration process typically takes one year, but he is
hopeful the process will only take a few months. When the registration is
complete, Lvovich said OGO will be turning to the Council for technical
assistance.

Efficient & effective
“We will need to know how
to efficiently and effectively feed the product,” he said. “We are particularly
interested in the nutritional components of distiller’s grains. We foresee other
companies following our lead and incorporating DDGS into poultry rations in the
near future. Much promotional efforts are needed right now.”

Currently in
Russia, the livestock and poultry industries utilise 18 million metric tons of
feed ingredients with 60 to 70 percent going into poultry rations.