Russia has suspended pet food imports from several European pet food factories in a recent set of measures officially aimed at protecting pets from potentially harmful products. The move could add tensions to strained supply in some product categories, according to market players.
On January 31, Rosselhoznadzor temporarily restricted the import of pet food from French UNITED PETFOOD FRANCE-UPF, ATM PETFOOD and La Normandise. The same proposal was made in Italy against United Petfood Italia Spa, Hill’s Pet Nutrition Manufacturing, Adragna Alimenti Zootecnici Srl and Nestle Italiana SPA.
The decision was made based on the results of a routine inspection in November 2023, which revealed systematic violations of production standards at these facilities, the regulator explained.
In addition, the Russian veterinary body banned imports from the Serbian factory Farmina Pet Foods due to repeated detection of arsenic in imported product batches.
Before the restrictions, Hill’s and Farmina together accounted for 12.5% of Russian pet food imports. The loss of Hills products could be particularly painful for pet owners in Russia because Hills covers about one-third of market demand for therapeutic pet food, local news outlet reported. BFM reported, citing the Russian Union of Zoo Business Enterprises.
Gradual ban on pet food in Europe and America
The new restrictions are part of a long-term trend that began in 2021 when Rosselhoznadzor launched laboratory inspections of imported pet food, recalls Tatyana Kolchanova, general director of the Zoo Business Union.
Changing regulatory practices have led to a gradual ban on pet food factories in Europe and America for a variety of reasons, from identifying GMOs in delivered products to differences in between the declared and actual content of the product, says Kolchanova.
“In general, this is not a very good story because dietary pet food designed to affect certain body functions is almost 100% imported,” added Kolchanova. “And, frankly, these import bans don’t seem quite right because these pets have been imported for decades, with side effects never detected.”
Yulia Dolzhenkova, development director of Zooinform, a Moscow-based pet industry media outlet, said pet food import restrictions have had a negative impact on the Russian pet food market. “Russian industry has not yet offered viable alternatives to imported products,” said Yulia Dolzhenkova.
With these actions, the import of pet food to Russia continues to decrease. In 2023, about 72,400 tons of foreign pet food will land on the country’s market, down 31% compared to last year, local news outlet Your font reported.
Despite the opportunity, Russia has no quality alternative
A source in the Russian pet food industry who wished to remain anonymous told the publication that almost 100% of demand in the economy segment of the Russian market is met by local factories, especially Mars and Nestle factories . All imported pet food belongs to the premium segment.
In 2023, sales in the Russian pet food market will reach Rub₽433 billion (Eur€4.7 billion) compared to Rub₽380 billion (Eur€5.2 billion based on the 2022 exchange rate) in the previous year with 14% growth , which is approx Zoo informationa pet food media based in Moscow.
Inflation and price increases in the pet food market are the main factors contributing to growth, said Yulia Dolzhenkova, referring to a Nielsen study. According to the report, sales volume in the cat food segment will witness a 2.5% increase in sales, while sales of dog food will stagnate in 2023.
Russian veterinary officials emphasized that the Russian pet food industry has the opportunity to benefit from the imposed restrictions. Yulia Dolzhenkova agreed that the new market status quo has given Russian businesses a strong impetus to expand domestic pet food production. Construction of new pet food factories has begun, and capacity is expected to increase in the future.
This is not enough, however, to fill all the gaps in the market. “There is a lack of R&D and a lack of qualified personnel who know what it takes to produce quality products,” said Yulia Dolzhenkova. “For years, we’ve relied on imports, and we’re not ready to get the products of the same quality that we used to get from Europe.”
The lack of raw materials and some key ingredients are further factors hindering the Russian import-replacement push, especially in the specialty pet food segment. Russian raw material supplies have not yet caught up with foreign companies in terms of product quality, Yulia Dolzhenkova admitted.
“Holistic and therapeutic pet food cannot be produced at all at this stage in Russia due to the lack of critically important raw materials,” said Yulia Dolzhenkova.
Following the restrictions, prices of Hill’s pet food warehouse stocks rose by nearly 75% as customers rushed to get their hands on the last available products. The panic buying is happening against the background of discussions of an appeal by social activists who asked the Russian General Prosecution Office to withdraw stocks of banned imported pet food from retail sale.
Russian pet parents love to switch to domestic pet food. There are a number of decent options, but in general they are not satisfied with the quality stability of those products or the price, which they expect to be lower than imported pet food, Yulia Dolzhenkova admits.
