Russia to extend support for hatching egg production
The Russian Agricultural Ministry has rolled out a draft decree extending the state support for hatching egg production for an additional 5 years, through 2030. The move is justified by the need to reduce the Russian turkey industry’s dependence on hatching egg imports.
The ministry believes that the state aid for Russian hatcheries has clearly paid off. Between 2022 and 2025, it facilitated investments in 11 new projects with a total capacity of 980,000 heads of poultry for simultaneous keeping. This boosted Russian hatching egg production by 1.3 billion units, the ministry estimated.
“The support measures have led to the establishment of a breeding stock for industrial poultry production in Russia, ensuring the smooth operation of poultry farms and a steady growth in poultry production,” the ministry said in an explanatory note to the decree.
Broiler segment
The Russian broiler segment’s dependence on imported hatching eggs has declined to 11%, down 7% from 2021 levels, the ministry added.
Russia supports hatching egg production through a broad range of initiatives, including soft loans with state-subsidised interest rates and the reimbursement of a portion of capital costs for the construction and modernisation of production capacities.
Absolute import dependence in turkeys
However, the turkey segment is yet to benefit from the initiative. Turkey farming still has a 100% dependence on imported hatching eggs, the Ministry admitted.
Russian veterinary regulators also warn of an “unstable epizootic situation” in countries exporting hatching eggs to Russia, including Canada, Germany, and France, which occasionally leads to a shortage of breeding stock.
Streamlining turkey production
Over the past decade, turkey production in Russia quadrupled, reaching 435,000 tonnes in 2024, the ministry estimated. Russia is now ranked second among the world’s largest turkey exporters, the ministry noted.
During the first half of 2025, Russia exported 17,500 tonnes of turkey worth US$50 million, Agroexport, a Russian government agency that facilitates agricultural exports, revealed. In value, exports jumped by 30% compared with the previous year.
Export dependence
The largest export destinations were China, which accounted for US$17.7 million, the UAE with US$8.6 million, Benin with US$7.7 million, and Saudi Arabia with US$4 million.
According to the ministry, the extension of the state support measures will facilitate growth in Russian hatching egg production by 2.5 billion units over the next 5 years. In addition, it will lower the veterinary risks that hatching egg imports pose to the Russian poultry industry.
