Cherkizovo Group Expects its 2014 Grain Harvest to Increase by 45% to 250,000 Tonnes

Cherkizovo Group, one of Russia’s largest producers of meat and meat products, is forecasting a grain harvest of 250,000 tonnes bunker weight in 2014, an increase of 45% from the previous year, as the company reported.

This year, the company increased its land bank in Moscow, Lipetsk, Orel, and Voronezh regions by 45% to 58,000 hectares. As in previous years, most of the land will be sown with wheat, corn, sunflower, and barley.

The company achieved high yields last year that significantly exceeded the average for Russia. Wheat yield in 2013 was 5 t/ha (bunker weight) vs. an average of 2.3 t/ha for Russia; corn yield was 9 t/ha vs. 5.3 t/ha, and sunflower yield was 3.5 t/ha vs. 1.6 t/ha, the report added, with reference to data from the RF Ministry of Agriculture.

Cherkizovo has also invested in modernizing production to make its grain division more efficient. In 2013, the company purchased imported tractors and combined harvesters, grain bins, tow trucks, and special equipment as part of a 200 million investment in procurement. A new grain drying facility was also constructed in Voronezh region.

Cherkizovo Group OJSC (Petelinka, Kurinoe Tsarstvo, and Cherkizovsky trademarks) includes 8 poultry and 14 pork production facilities, 6 meat processing plants, 6 fodder plants, grain storage facilities, and a land bank exceeding 100,000 hectares. Igor Babaev and members of his family are the company’s beneficiaries.