A stable growth of raw meat costs was observed in the first half of 2008, according to Meat Russia.

Prices for finished products, including RTC poultry products were growing as well. In the second half of 2008, meat and poultry prices were down due to global economic downturn and its related problems such as freight cost reduction, falls in some national currencies, problems with procurement crediting and demand decline. The purchase prices for finished poultry products continues growth.

The reason is that the market of ready-to-cook products is relatively stable (compared to the raw materials) and so it reacts more slowly to price fluctuations in foreign markets. Furthermore, pricing of these products is based not only on raw material cost but also other costs such as marketing.

The main suppliers of RTC poultry products to the Russian market are Brazil, France and Germany. As to ratio price/quality, Brazilian producers continued to lead the market in 2008. European companies offer RTC chicken products at higher prices (US$ 4.40-4.90 per kilo).