Some analysts had expected poultry prices to rise at the start of 2010, when Russia banned poultry rinsed with a chlorine solution that is commonly used in the U.S. Until then, the U.S. had supplied a large proprortion of the chicken legs and thighs consumed in Russia.
However, Cherkizovo said that poultry prices fell at the start of the year because Russian producers had stocked up, particularly on imported chicken, in the previous months.
Cherkizovo's statement on prices was included in its first-quarter financial results, in which the company reported a 29% year-on-year rise in revenue to $268.0 million and a 32% increase in net profit to $31.0 million.