April 19 2005, 13:33 Interfax

Russia: poultry meat consumption seen to increase

In 2005 per capita poultry meat consumption in Russia will increase to 17.6 kilos from 16 kilos last year, Vice President of Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the President of Rosptitsesoys (Russian union of poultry breeders) Vladimir Fisinin said to the 1st International Veterinary Congress of Poultry Breeders on April 19 in Moscow.

He said more than half of per capita consumption in 2005 - 10.3 kilos - would be of locally produced poultry meat, one in 2004 Russian poultry breeders provided only 8.3 kilos of meet per one person.

Fisinin said production of poultry meat in Russia this year was seen to increase at 250,000 tonnes compared with 2004. Last year local poultry breeders turned out 1.2 million tonnes of the meat. In the first quarter of 2005 the poultry meat production increased 18 percent from the same period of last year. This is to be viewed against the background of drop in production of beef and pork in January-March by 43,000 and 18,400 tonnes from last year's levels correspondingly.