Cherkizovo Group exported up to $10 mln in poultry products this year
MOSCOW. Dec 11 (Interfax) - Russian meat products group Cherkizovo exported poultry products worth between $8 million and $10 million in 2013, primarily chicken feet for the Chinese market, CEO Sergei Mikhailov said at a meeting with analysts in Moscow on Wednesday.
However, the company also has its eyes on the premium market segment, where further increases in export volumes will depend mainly on production costs. "If it allows, then this can be continued, although regulations in the importing countries are very strict. For example, getting onto markets in Europe and the U.S. is very difficult," he said.
The markets for poultry in the Middle East and Africa have better prospects for exports from Russia, he said. "But they buy the cheapest products; this will not be a high-margin distribution channel," he said.
For that reason, over the next several years the company will not focus on exports. "We reckon that it is much more interesting to work with sales channels inside Russia, with brands," he said. "Our task is to take a big enough share of the Russian market to grow our profitability," he said.
At the same time, Mikhailov acknowledged that there were "elements of overproduction" evident on the Russian market in poultry meat. Nonetheless, he forecast that prices for poultry meat in 2014 would be higher than this year.