Russia sees hike in pet food export

In physical terms, pet food exports totalled 160,000 tonnes, 32% up compared to 2020. Russia exports pet food to 30 countries, Agroexport reported.

Export destination countries

“The main export destinations are the EU, Norway, Turkey, CIS countries, Ukraine, and Mongolia. Particular attention is paid to the prospects of Russian pet food on the Chinese market. The number of pet owners [in China] keeps growing, and as a result, feed consumption is also rising,” Fedor Borisov, executive director of the Russian pet food producers association, was quoted as saying by Agroexport.

By 2025, Russian pet food exports are expected to grow by 25% to 30% per year, the Russian association of pet food producers forecasted.

Largest sales markets for Russian pet food

Currently, the main buyer of Russian pet food is Belarus, with 37,000 tonnes of pet food (worth $61 million) imported last year, Agroexport said. In the list of largest sales markets for Russian pet food, the country is followed by Kazakhstan, Germany, Ukraine, and France.

• Kazakhstan: 31,000 tonnes of pet food worth $32 million
• Germany: more than 20,000 tonnes worth $22 million
• Ukraine: purchased pet food worth $21 million,
• France: purchased pet food worth $20 million.

New destinations

According to Agroexport there are also several new destinations where Russian pet food was exported for the first time last year. This includes:

• Spain with supplies worth $522,000
• Sweden with $84,000
• Finland with $59,000

Thermally processed pet food

In addition, deliveries of thermally processed pet food to Hong Kong began in 2021, with the first 11 tonnes worth $19,000 were shipped to this region.

2020 total pet food sales

In 2020, the overall sales on the Russian pet food market increased by 10.1%, reaching 661,000 tonnes, as shown in a study conducted by Euromonitor International. In monetary terms, the sales totalled 223 billion roubles ($ 3.7 billion). In this background, the largest players declared plans to expand production capacities.

Market expansions

For example, Mars rolled out plans to establish a third stage of its pet food production complex in Rostov Oblast, Russia, to boost production by 60% to 95,000 tonnes per year, while Nestle Purina PetCare said it would build its first Siberian factory in 2023 with a designed production capacity of 75,000 tonnes of pet food per year. The investment cost is 10 billion roubles ($ 150 million).