Prices for Cherkizovo poultry sales increased by 19 per cent from 62.03 roubles (RUB) per kg in the first nine months of 2008 to RUB73.88 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT).

As a result of the 35 per cent depreciation of the rouble over this period, prices in dollar terms decreased by 12 per cent from $2.58 per kilo in the first nine months of 2008 to $2.27 per kg in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT).

Sales volumes in the pork division in the first nine months of 2009 increased 23 per cent to approximately 35,570 tonnes compared to approximately 28,870 tonnes for the same period of 2008, reflecting the growing production of the new farms at Lipetsk and Tambov.

In the first nine months of 2009, prices in the pork division increased in rouble terms by 14 per cent from RUB66.10 per kilo in the first nine months of 2008 to RUB75.38 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT).

In dollar terms, prices decreased by 16 per cent from $2.75 per kg of live weight in the first nine months of 2008 to $2.32 per kg of live weight in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT).

In the meat processing division, the company continued to see decreased sales volumes of lower-priced products, and this, together with lower consumption in the regions of Russia due to the challenging economic environment, affected the performance of the division.

Sales volumes decreased by 13 per cent to approximately 95,370 tonnes in the first nine months of 2009 from approximately 110,200 tonnes in the first nine months of 2008.

Average prices increased by 13 per cent from RUB99.65 in the first nine months of 2008 to RUB112.75 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT). Segment prices in dollar terms decreased 16 per cent from $4.14 in the first nine months of 2008 to $3.47 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT).

Commenting on the performance, Sergey Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group said: "While the current economic environment continues to exert a somewhat negative influence on consumption patterns, our performance reflects the impact of favorable rouble pricing and continued sales momentum.

"The Group continues to invest in operational capacity and efficiency improvements and expects further volume gains in its pork segment. The management remains optimistic about the outlook for the final quarter of the year."