Washington - The USA Poultry and Egg Export Council said that it it is close to selecting a Russian partner for an ambitious joint venture project to rebuild the Russian poultry industry.
In a press release, the trade group said it has narrowed its choices down to four Russian poultry firms out of 23 that applied. Project leaders will make a final selection in early spring, the group said.
The move is not without risk for the U.S. poultry industry, which has greatly expanded its sales to Russia following the demise of the Soviet Union and the elimination of subsidies for livestock production.
Russia now is the largest market for U.S. poultry, with imports of just over 900,000 tonnes in 1997, the group said.
But the U.S. poultry industry "feels it's important that Russia's poultry industry strenghthen and survive," said Ervin Burkholder, project director.
The project's goal is create a vertically-integrated broiler complex in Russia in cooperation with an existing Russian poultry facility.
Thirty-three U.S. broiler companies, which together represent about 85 percent of U.S. broiler production, are supporting the project.
The U.S. Agriculture Department also has donated 36,000 tonnes of soymeal that will be sold in Russia to raise money for the project.
The four finalists are:
-Elinar, a Russian industrial-agricultural comglomerate that owns a poultry farm in the Moscow Oblast;
-Lomonosovskaya Poultry Farm, a large broiler operation near St. Petersburg;
-Melcombinat, a Russian flour milling company that owns a poultry farm in the Tverskaya Oblast; and
-South Crown, a large feed mill with a group of affliated poultry farms in the Krasnodar Oblast.
To make the final selection, egg and poultry export council officials will visit the four firms in March to examine their facilities and estimate the cost of any renovation or new buildings that would be needed.
The current plan is for the U.S. partners to sell their stake in the project to the Russian partner within five to 10 years, the council said.
In the meantime, proceeds from the project will be reinvested in other broiler projects in Russia and the facility will be used as a training ground for other Russian poultry industry managers.
The export council hopes to begin construction by June or July.
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