Source:  Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 2/22/10

Russia plans to build 23 new poultry complexes with capacity of roughly 320,000 metric tons this year, according to Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik.

In the next four or five years, Russia will be able to completely avoid importing poultry meat due to production increases, she was quoted by Interfax News Agency as saying. "The advanced growth rates in poultry meat production make us able to not only meet internal needs for this product, but to start exporting to other countries," she said.

Skrynnik also predicted Russia will increase domestic meat production by 25 percent by 2012, while imports drop to 18 percent of overall consumption. She said Russia will not experience a meat shortage or higher prices because of reduced meat import quotas.

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