MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. Russia can supply about 30,000-35,000 tons of pork to China in 2024, which is about 15% of all its pork exports, head of the National Meat Association Sergey Yushin told TASS at the International Exhibition and Forum Russia.

"Currently, we only have three enterprises licensed to supply [pork] and not all products from them have the right of access. But we would like to reach the volume of about 30,000-35,000 tons this year. If this works out, it would be approximately 15 % of our total pork exports," Yushin said.

According to him, at present the most important thing is to prove to the Chinese side that Russia can supply pork that fully meets the strict requirements of the Chinese side in terms of safety, veterinary medicine, hygiene and sanitation.

"This is the most important thing now. To show that we are a reliable supplier who will not violate Chinese requirements," the expert stressed.

He recalled that the representatives of Russian agricultural enterprises have just successfully completed their business visit to China where they met with their colleagues from local livestock and meat enterprises and regulator’s officials. During the visit they stressed the importance of expanding the range of products allowed for exports to the Chinese market.

"Expanding such a list would help us sell more actively to China, something that is not very in demand in Russia. Chinese cuisine is such that they consume a lot of products that we cannot find in our pans," the expert added.

About pork supplies

In September 2023, the Russian agricultural watchdog reported that the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China lifted African swine fever related restrictions on pork supplies from Russia. The decision was made based on the results of a risk assessment and analysis of the state control system for African swine fever in Russia.

In December 2023, representatives of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China came to Russia to get familiar with the veterinary supervision system and the activities of the agricultural watchdog’s research institutes. They visited pig farms and inspected Russian pork producers.

As the department reported in mid-December, the final step towards opening the Chinese market for Russian pork supplies will be the approval of the appropriate veterinary certificate and certification of Russian enterprises.

In late February 2024, the Chinese competent authority certified three Russian companies to ship pork from Russia to China. On March 7, the Miratorg agro-industrial holding announced the shipment of the first batch of pork in the amount of 27 tons from the Belgorod region to China. On April 2, another Russian enterprise sent three shipments of pork by-products totaling 167.99 tons to China.

On April 13, the Russian agricultural watchdog told TASS that the first batch of Russian pork arrived at the Chinese port.