Russian pork exports rise 8% in the first half of 2026
Russia's pork exports exceeded 190,000 tonnes in the first half of 2026, up 8% year on year, according to meatinfo.ru. China drove the gains with a 55.2% jump in purchases, while Belarus remained the largest single buyer at 66,100 tonnes. Poultry, beef and live-animal shipments also expanded.
Russian pork exports climb 8% in the first half of 2026
Russia expanded its exports of livestock products in the first half of 2026, with pork the clearest driver of growth, according to meatinfo.ru. Total exports of meat and meat products approached 400,000 tonnes over the six-month period. Within that total, pork shipments rose 8% year on year and exceeded 190,000 tonnes, underscoring a widening role for Russian suppliers in regional protein trade.
Between January and June 2026 Russia shipped more than 190,000 tonnes of pork products, up from 176,200 tonnes in the same period a year earlier. Exports of pork itself grew by 3,500 tonnes to 141,300 tonnes. The faster-moving category was pork by-products, where volumes rose 27% to 48,700 tonnes — a segment that depends on markets willing to absorb offal that domestic buyers value less.
Belarus and China anchor demand
Belarus remained the single largest buyer of Russian pork, lifting purchases 11.1% to 66,100 tonnes. China, including Hong Kong, made the sharpest contribution to overall growth, importing about 61,900 tonnes of Russian pork products — a 55.2% increase on the previous year. Chinese pork imports rose 36.6% to more than 32,500 tonnes, while purchases of pork by-products jumped 1.8 times to 29,400 tonnes. The scale of the Chinese offal trade points to demand for cuts and products that command higher relative value in that market than at home.
Poultry, beef and prepared meats
Exports of poultry meat and edible offal reached around 147,300 tonnes in the first half of 2026. China stayed the main buyer at almost 42,200 tonnes, followed by Saudi Arabia at more than 18,500 tonnes. meatinfo.ru reported significant growth across several African and Central Asian destinations: Kazakhstan (+27.4%), Ghana (3.4 times), Benin (1.8 times), Tajikistan (1.8 times), Congo (+32%), Liberia (5.3 times), Guinea (1.8 times) and Mozambique (+60%).
Prepared meat products totaled 37,600 tonnes, with Kazakhstan the largest buyer at 20,300 tonnes. Shipments to Belarus rose 15.2% to 3,800 tonnes and to Saudi Arabia 8.5% to more than 4,500 tonnes. Beef exports came to 12,100 tonnes, with China (6,200 tonnes) and Saudi Arabia (2,100 tonnes) the leading importers.
Live animal trade expands
Exports of live animals reached 166,200 head in the first half of 2026. Live pig exports rose 33.1% to 149,000 head, with Georgia the largest destination after raising purchases 27.4% to 96,500 head. The combination of stronger pork, poultry and live-animal flows signals broadening demand for Russian livestock products across the former Soviet space, the Middle East, East Asia and a growing list of African markets.
