Major meat producer from Russia scales new heights in China's agri-food sector
'From field to fork' integrated production strategy fuels market expansion
Russia remains one of the world's fastest-growing major economies despite the challenges of post-pandemic recovery and global political and economic turmoil. The World Bank upgraded Russia's status from upper-middle-income to high-income, and the International Monetary Fund raised its GDP growth forecast in 2024 to 3.6 percent with the median estimate of the long-term growth rate unchanged at 1.8 percent. Economic openness and flexibility enabled adaptation to new external conditions, with Russia's turn to the East being a strategic breakthrough in terms of strengthening ties with the world's leading economies, above all China and India.
China is currently Russia's largest trade partner, with cooperation between the two countries at its strongest in centuries. The economies of the two countries complement each other to deliver mutually rewarding performance — Russia relies on Chinese investment, while China benefits from Russia's natural resources to meet its energy needs. As the largest food importer in the world, China welcomes a deeper engagement with Russia in agriculture, too: in 2024, the value of Russia's agri-food exports to China increased by nearly 53 percent year-on-year. Russia's agriculture is booming, so it is interested in delivering a major push for its food market and boosting exchanges in agricultural science and technology.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, output in 2024 increased by 1.8 percent year-on-year. The market's largest segment is meat where the market volume is almost $54 billion. Russia's strong economic growth, household purchasing power and trending dietary preferences sustainably support the demand for high-quality products. Meat production showed positive dynamics influenced by internal competition and changing global economic conditions — in the coming years, the market is expected to grow annually by 6.93 percent. Russia's food market is strongly diversified because of its geographical range and local preferences, so market participants have an opportunity to offer a wide range of beef, pork, lamb and poultry products, depending on the region and its food culture. Governmental regulations on meat imports direct the market orientation toward the internal requirements of the country and boost its overall performance. Furthermore, local peculiarities and the popularity of traditional meat dishes in Russian cuisine facilitate the stability and growth of production. According to the Russian National Meat Association, in the short term, Russia is set to increase production of all types of meat, which is also likely to consolidate the country's position in global meat processing and bring about a surge in meat exports.
Miratorg has been deeply involved in this process. Founded in 1995 and initially engaged in the importing of beef and pork from Latin America, the company has turned into the biggest producer and distributor in terms of meat products in Russia. As of today, Miratorg is a distinctive player in pork and beef processing and a producer of poultry, deli meats, vegetables, ready-to-eat meals and pet food. The company keeps extending its offerings and bringing new products to the market. Despite the initial skepticism of market experts, Miratorg is now synonymous with quality for most Russian customers, and the company has developed a culture of beef consumption in the country. All of their products are made exclusively from raw materials produced by the company and natural components without preservatives or artificial additives, before being packaged using advanced technology. The company offers 2,500 products under a single brand in its 40,000 retail locations and remains a large investor in 15 regions: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk and others. As for foreign trade, they export to 46 countries with China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates being key markets, with the latter two countries holding special importance due to their policy of only importing premium products. Exporting remains crucial for Miratorg — the name Miratorg is derived from the combination of the words "world" and "trade" in Russian, while the growth of the company is heavily reliant on international trade.
One of Miratorg's main strengths is an elaborated approach to manufacturing — from field to fork. The company operates a fully integrated production cycle controlling manufacturing activity at every step, from crop production, breeding and raising animals to processing and packaging the finished product.
"Within 20 years, we have invested almost $6 billion in the construction of about 500 production units, including slaughterhouses, feed mills and farms to establish a fully integrated production model. This vertical integration distinguishes us from competitors worldwide," said Miratorg President Victor Linnik. "We were able to form a large land mass in non-black earth regions of Russia. Back in 2005, those were undeveloped sites, but today we operate more than 1 million hectares maintaining low production costs and high-quality output. Our main objective is to enhance competitiveness and deliver high quality at low cost. Integrated operations help mitigate market risks, and our diverse product range — pork, poultry and beef — provides economic stability."
As landholders, Miratorg is now able to turn its focus on investing in its own manufacture, which allows the company to monitor product quality and guarantee compliance with the international standards.
It is Miratorg's focus on quality that entices international business associates. In 1995, it began as an importer and quickly established a reputation as a reliable partner in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Argentina, even though the Latin American market is billed as one of the most difficult.
"It was an educational experience," Linnik said. "We bought a slaughterhouse in Brazil for $7 million intending to leverage Brazil's huge cattle resources. Modernization costs, however, exceeded expectations, and we had to sell the facility for $20 million. It was one of the best deals in my career."
When participating in global trade, companies must take into account the growing expectations of consumers regarding high environmental and ethical standards of production. This fully applies to the Chinese market, where agricultural products from Russia are not without reason perceived as "green".
"And this is our competitive advantage," said Miratorg's president. "From the very beginning of its operation, our company has paid special attention to compliance with environmental legislation, environmentally friendly technologies and humane treatment of animals. The company implements the principle of zero-waste production — practically all byproducts are recycled and used to produce new products demanded in the worldwide market, including nonfood products. All this requires significant additional investments, but environmental care is one of our top priorities."
Thus Miratorg entered the Chinese market in 2018 as a reputable company. China is looking forward to diversifying its food supply chains, and Miratorg's capability to supply high-quality products fully meets its needs. Russian firms are keen to succeed in China's meat market, which has become its biggest export destination, and the recent agricultural cooperation agreement between the two countries raises hopes for closer economic ties.
"We started exporting to China with poultry and beef. At the end of 2023, China approved imports of Russian pork, and we expanded our exports," Linnik said. "As the largest pork producer in Russia, we became the first Russian company to ship pork to China. Thanks to the opening of the pork market, the expansion of our product range and customer base, the company's shipments to the Chinese market increased by 78 percent to 45,600 metric tons in 2024. China is a crucial market because of its proximity and the growing purchasing power of the population. We are very responsible about fulfilling all veterinary requirements. We are strengthening our presence there by having launched the Miratorg brand and focused on catering, our most profitable sector. We intend to double our supply volumes in the coming years and expand our range of meat products to meet the taste preferences of the people of China. Exports remain our top priority as our growth is highly dependent on international trade. In 2024, we exported 200,000 tons of meat products and generated revenue of approximately $700 million."
As an experienced international market player, Miratorg now hires Chinese professionals to take into account the nature of doing business in China, facilitate communication, and even make participation in international fairs easier because in early stages, commercial intercourse was an issue. This strategy could come useful if the company considers expanding its business in China in the long run, a process that requires much time and heavy investments. For now, the extension of ties helps bridge the culture gap and promote technology exchange.
Russia is attractive to Chinese investors and companies looking for business opportunities.
"In agriculture, the potential is immense. The world will need more than 40 million tons of additional food in the next decade, and by 2050, that figure could reach 100 million tons. Russia is positioned to meet this demand. Therefore, for Chinese companies, the partnership with Russian companies in agriculture is a significant opportunity for growth. Russian products are distinguished by their high quality, safety and flavor. Moreover, we have a strong and professional Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision in Russia. Strong state supervision ensures, among other things, that Chinese requirements are met precisely," Linnik said.
As further cooperation between China and Russia is welcomed at a promising level, their governmental bodies are involved too. The Ministry of Agriculture, the State Veterinary Service, and the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision are working hard at the interstate level with the General Customs Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China to expand the range of supplies so that the necessary administrative issues can be resolved. Given Russia's agricultural potential and China's enormous market size, in order to develop cooperation, the parties need to focus on infrastructure, logistics and reducing transport costs — another important issue for neighboring countries that cannot be solved without government assistance. The company is open to new joint projects. Linnik said the company's partnership is not only about food supply, it also paves the way for economic cooperation in other sectors.
"There is genuine interest in Russian products," Linnik said. "The more Chinese consumers know about Russia, the better our business prospects. On the other hand, bring new technology to Russia, we import equipment, trucks and spare parts, and we buy chemicals and ingredients for agricultural animal feeds. Imports of equipment, spare parts and raw materials from China totaled about $30 million last year. We jointly implemented several projects to recycle waste and modernized equipment at a number of production facilities. We also worked closely with our partners from China on a project for the production of canned pet food and found technical solutions for heat treatment and packaging. There is definitely a future for our cooperation. The strength of our brand in Russia combined with the current political landscape improve our standing in China, and there are promising commercial and technological opportunities."
With taste, eco-sustainability and the brand itself as its core values, Miratorg is set to solidify its presence in China and promote Russia as a business destination.
China-Russia relations span centuries, and the recent strengthening of ties between the two countries stimulates their economic growth. Russia with its natural resources and production facilities and China with its enormous market and substantial investment are both destined for success. Intensified cooperation in agriculture based on shared interests and geographic proximity, as well as rapidly increasing agro trade, strengthen the countries' standing so that their expanding economies get an even greater boost. As the Russian and Chinese economies are essentially complementary, their cooperation is also enhanced in other sectors. Reorienting its economy toward China, Russia managed to avoid perturbations in the short term and secure a strong strategic partnership for the future, while China found a reliable partner essential for national development.
