Damate switches to Russian turkey hatching eggs, stops imports

MOSCOW. Nov 16 (Interfax) - Damate Group, Russia's leading turkey producer, has completely switched to using domestic hatching eggs and stopped importing them.

"Damate Group has completed a systemic and gradual transition to complete self-sufficiency in turkey hatching eggs and is halting egg imports. This became possible thanks to the launch of a turkey pedigree breeding facility in Tyumen Region at the end of last year and the new enterprise's achievement of planned production capacity," the group said in a press release.

Damate produces turkey at farms in Penza and Rostov regions with design capacity to produce 292,000 tonnes per year.

The two farms require about 30 million hatching eggs per year and their needs are fully met by three large breeding facilities: the new one in Tyumen Region, which supplies 12 million eggs per year; one in Rostov Region that produces up to 11 million eggs annually; and a partner breeding facility.

Damate is the only turkey producer in Russia with its own parent flock, giving it a key advantage. The group worked on this side of the business in several regions of Russia.

In September 2021it began building the breeding facility in Tyumen Region with a flock of 138,000 and capacity to produce 12 million eggs per year. It was launched in November 2022 and in June 2023 the company began building up its parent flock. All of the facilities at the breeding complex went into operation in the summer of 2023. The hatching eggs from the facility are supplied to Damate's turkey farm in Penza Region.