High grain prices in Russia this year, have contributed to a slow down in the development of the country's grain processing industries, primarily its flour and compound feed production.
CEO of Russian grain industry experts ProZerno, Vladimir Petrichenko said "Usually, January is the month when there is a decrease in the levels of grain processing output , and in February it starts to recover, but this year, the picture is different. Thus, in February, there was in fact, a collapse in the production of flour and animal feed in the country."
Petrichenko stated that in February this year, production of flour amounted to 753,500 tonnes. This is same as the production figures from January 2013, but 7% lower when compared to February 2012.
The feed production figures however saw a sizable drop month on month. Janurary saw production figures of 1,755,000 tonnes of feed, while in February this figure dropped to 1,659,000 tonnes, representing a 13% drop.
Talking about the future prospects of the feed sector, Petrichenko was not positive about the restoration of growth in the industry.
"Earlier in March compared with February, there was an increase by 8-10%, but this year we will not see this," Petrichenko said. He stated that in March of 2012 in Russia 1.680 million tonnes of feed was produced. "This year's production, at best, will be at the same level, but probably we will not see any growth."
