Russia could increase poultry production 2% in 2024 - Agriculture Ministry

MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) - Russia could increase poultry meat production 2% in 2024. However, there are still problems with hatching eggs, Secretary of State - Deputy Minister of Agriculture Maxim Uvaidov said.

"There are several new investment projects in this area [meat poultry farming]. We plan to reach [growth] of 2% in 2024. We definitely plan to exceed it," Uvaidov said at a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues in Wednesday.

Farms of all categories produced more than 7 million tonnes of poultry meat last year, he said. "In all categories of farms we are ahead of the game. It has decreased a little in agricultural organizations, but this is an arithmetical error. We are waiting for Rosstat to recalculate it. They will do it in April. Or maybe the numbers will stay the same," he said.

Meanwhile, Uvaidov said that "questions regarding hatching eggs" remain in the industry. "Here, we are actively working with Rosselkhoznadzor, because more and more countries are closed due to the epizootic situation. When outbreaks [of diseases] arise, restrictions are imposed on the supply of hatching eggs," he said. "Let's hope that we have many partners who will help, until we created our own mass poultry cross."

The Deputy Minister said that the production of the Smena-9 domestic crossbreed bird is currently underway. "We are hoping that, in the near future we will have our own Russian broiler cross in sufficient quantities, which will allow us to create an alternative to foreign hatching eggs," he said.