How Will the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Impact the U.S. Meat Market?

While the volatility in the grains from the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to make headlines, the U.S. meat market is likely going to feel the effects albeit to a smaller degree. While, it wasn’t long ago that Russia was a major buyer of proteins in the world market, it has become more self-sufficient in the last decade.

USDA data shows that Russian pork consumption last year was 26% higher than it was in 2010 and the country is now a net exporter of pork. Russia increased its domestic pork output by 86%, eliminating its dependence on imports even throughout the African swine fever outbreaks. The country also exports about the same amount of chicken that it imports. Beef is the wild card, with the country declining production by 5% in the same decade, wihle consumption has declined 32%.

What does this mean for the U.S. meat market? Not much impact on global trade, but the large impact on global grain and oil trade will negatively impact feed and energy costs for livestock producers. As major suppliers of fertilizers, the conflict between these countries will only make availability and prices that much more difficult.

Read more on the European conflict’s impact on livestock producers here.