Russia urges farmers to stop using imported pig vaccines

Rosselhoznadzor emphasised that there is no ban on the import of foreign-made drugs and vaccines at the moment. In the first quarter of 2022, nearly 5.2 billion doses of vaccines for all animal species were imported to Russia, which is 26% more compared to the previous year.

Dependence varies between 50 and 90%

The Russian Union of pork producers estimated that the Russian pig industry’s dependence on foreign drugs and vaccines ranges between 50% and 90% depending on the product. During the past several years, Russian pig farmers imported 70 to 80 million doses of pig vaccines, according to the local consulting agency VetAnalitika.

The absence of certain imported drugs on the Russian market is due to the fact that foreign organisations independently stopped importing them into Russia and are speculating on this topic

Temporary shortage

On the other hand, the key Western suppliers of veterinary drugs and vaccines suspended delivering their goods to the Russian market, trying to create a shortage and putting pressure on the Russian authorities to adjust the veterinary rules to their benefit, Rosselhoznadzor added.

“The absence of certain imported drugs on the Russian market is due to the fact that foreign organisations independently stopped importing them into Russia and are speculating on this topic,” Rosselhoznadzor said, claiming that 4 companies are engaged in this process. “They widely support the version of the shortage of medicines due to excessive state control,” Rosselkhoznadzor emphasised.

Unclear picture

Some market participants complained about a lack of some commonly used drugs and vaccines on the Russian market in the past few months. The temporary shortage also increases prices, which have spiked by 20% to 30% on some items.

Foreign veterinary drug suppliers have remained silent about the reasons for the turbulence on the Russian market and have not responded to Rosselhoznadzor’s claims yet.

Domestic production is growing

On the other hand, Rosselhoznadzor stated the Russian production of veterinary drugs and vaccines had been steadily growing. For example, 12.74 billion doses of live vaccines for the agricultural sector were manufactured last year, 90% more compared with 2021.

In this situation, the Russian veterinary agency believes Russian farmers should switch to Russian products in order not to depend on imports.