Russia's imports of soyabean meal reached 152,889 tonnes in the last quarter of 2004, half the amount imported in the whole of 2003/04 season (October - September) due to a vigorous development of the domestic poultry industry. In December, Russia's imports of soyabean meal reached a record monthly high of 61,921 tonnes.

The Netherlands and Germany remain the major suppliers of soyabean meal, accounting for 53.8 percent and 30.0 percent of Russia's total imports in October-December respectively.

Poultry output growth in 2004 recovered to 15 percent year-on-year after slowing in 2003 to 9.5 percent year-on-year due to a sharp increase in domestic feed grain prices. The expansion of the sector is expected to continue in 2005, keeping the demand for soyabean meal strong.

At the moment, SovEcon forecasts Russia's imports of soyabean meal to be in the range of 0.45-0.5 million tonnes in the current season, compared with 0.3 million tonnes last season.

Copyright Reuters, 2005