Since the Russian invasion has started, Western pet food producers have left the country and imposed an embargo on selling their pet food. Russians have abandoned their pets, but local producers have stepped up their production to provide pet food to Russian pet owners.
Russian President Vladimir proclaimed the first large-scale troop mobilization since World War II on 21 Sep. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 300,000 were called up, whereas independent papers said the number sould also be 1 million.
As a result, 700,000 to 1 million Russian men fled from their home country within two weeks and abandoned their pets. This led to an overcrowding of the pet shelters.
Head of the State Duma ecological and environmental protection committee, Vladimir Burmatov, has already called on to financially support the pet shelters.
The moblization is just another reason that heavily impacts Russias pet food market. After the first sanctions were imposed to Russia, customers have already changed their beviour purchasing less expensive pet food now. Furthermore, te owners expressed more interest in private label and local manufacturers. Since the beginning of 2022, the pet food prices have increased by 15 to 60%.
Lots of Russian pet food companies could see a demand for their own pet food products. According to Goldman Group, the Western sanctions led to empty shelves, while the only remaining brands were invaluable. That’s why the company has specialised in the production of wholistic, superpremium pet food.
“The February events [the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24] clearly impacted sales. In March, we already recorded a four-fold rise in demand [for our products] compared to the previous month,” Goldman Group said. “In August, our sales exceeded the February level 14 times.”
According to president of the Russian Union of Zoo Industry Kirill Dmitriev, „the withdrawal of imported brands paved the way for Russian brands to expand their sales. Quite a few new pet food plants have been launched in the country recently, though most of them focus on low-budget and standard segments, and attention must be paid to product quality.“
He stated, that the attempts to manufacture premium pet food could not live up to the imported pet food.
https://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/11672-russian-pet-food-producers-expand-despite-market-turmoil
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