Folded wings: poultry farmers began to reduce staff and suspend investments in production

Russian poultry meat producers have faced the most serious deterioration in the business economy over the past few years, Izvestia has learned. According to the results of the first half of the year, the average profitability of poultry companies decreased to 6-7%, with an optimal margin of 15%. This forces them to review investment programs, reduce personnel costs, and optimize production. Pressure on financial results is being exerted simultaneously by rising costs and expensive loans, as well as increased competition with cheap imports from China, which has caused domestic wholesale prices for broilers to plummet since the fall of 2025. Against this background, individual enterprises are already operating with minimal profit or loss. How chicken producers adapt to the new reality — in the material of Izvestia.

What is happening to poultry meat producers

According to the results of the first half of 2026, the average profitability of poultry meat producers dropped to 6-7% against 8-9% in 2025 and 10-12% in 2024, Albert Davleev, president of Agrifood Strategies, told Izvestia. This has become a critical indicator over the past few years, he noted.

By the beginning of the year, some enterprises were operating with minimal profit or loss, added Andrey Bukhantsov, head of business transformation services for companies in the agro-industrial complex "B1". This, he said, led to a deterioration in liquidity and an increase in cash gaps throughout the chain. In the first half of 2026, manufacturers faced rising costs for feed, logistics, fuel, veterinary measures, regulatory requirements and debt servicing, agrees Artem Suvorov, project manager of the Consumer Sector and Agroindustrial Complex practice at Strategy Partners.

Poultry meat producers have always paid attention to optimizing business strategies, but in the last year and a half it has become a condition for survival due to severe market pressure, declining and stagnating wholesale prices, as well as rising credit costs and rising payroll costs, Albert Davleev explained.

All major poultry companies have faced difficulties over the past year, the top manager of a large agricultural holding and an investment banker working with agricultural companies are convinced. In particular, one of the largest producers, the Resurs group of agricultural enterprises (second in the rating of the National Union of Poultry Breeders (NSP) by the end of 2025), reduced part of the administrative and management staff in May and actually suspended the launch of new investment projects, its employee, partner and top manager of a large agricultural holding companies that are familiar with the situation. The sources did not disclose the scale of the cuts or the volume of frozen investments. At the same time, a representative of the GAP Resource stated that the company was operating "as planned in accordance with the approved development strategy." Optimization of individual business processes and personnel decisions is part of the standard practice of improving efficiency, he assured.

Cherkizovo (the first place in the NSP rating) in 2025 announced a program to optimize commercial and administrative costs, including personnel optimization, and also reduced investments. However, by the end of the first quarter of 2026, it reported a 27% increase in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for adjustments) and an increase in business profitability, according to the financial statements.

The N.I. Tkachev Agrocomplex (the third place in the NSP rating), owned by Alexander Tkachev, the former head of the Ministry of Agriculture and ex-governor of the Krasnodar Territory, made a net loss of 13.1 billion rubles for the first time since at least 2019. The company attributed it to higher interest costs and lower yields. At the same time, the holding reduced the number of staff by 5% and more than halved its capital investments, according to its financial statements.

Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture told Izvestia that the volume of poultry meat production in Russia makes it possible to fully supply the domestic market.

How did the import of poultry meat from China affect

Experts cite the growth of chicken fillet supplies from China as one of the reasons for the deterioration of the industry's economy. These products arrive in Russia even in excess of the import quota, Albert Davleev specified. This type of deep-cut meat is mainly used in meat processing, primarily in the production of semi-finished products for fast food chains, the expert added.

Increased competition with Chinese suppliers has led to a drop in domestic wholesale prices, said a top manager of a large agricultural holding. According to the Myasoinfo portal, in September 2025, the cost of a broiler carcass dropped to 194 rubles per 1 kg, and by the beginning of April this year - to 150 rubles. Thus, the broiler has fallen in price by almost a quarter during this period. The decline has become so critical that this situation has been discussed at the government level, according to a source familiar with the consultations in the cabinet. And already in mid-April, the Rosselkhoznadzor temporarily restricted the supply of chicken breast from two Chinese enterprises, Heilongjiang Chia Tai Enterprise and Heilongjiang Grand Forest Food Group, due to violations.

The Chinese themselves do not eat breast, they buy broiler paws and offal all over the world, and the excess meat is sent to neighboring countries at significantly lower prices, said Andrei Bukhantsov. According to the State Customs Administration of the People's Republic of China, in the first quarter, the country supplied poultry meat to Russia for $39.5 million, which is more than double the figure for the same period a year earlier. The cost of chicken breast from the republic is on average 30% lower than the Russian one, said a top manager of a large agricultural holding. According to him, the Chinese market is very important for the Russian Federation in terms of energy supplies, so the government has to be "careful" with imports from China. Otherwise, it may be regarded as an "unfriendly step," he believes.

China has also recently begun to actively export chicken legs to its neighboring markets, Albert Davleev added. According to him, this is another popular position for consumers at competitive prices with local and other suppliers.

Unclaimed Russian fillets are sold at retail, which deprives poultry farmers of the most marginal positions in processing, Albert Davleev noted. According to him, against the background of declining profitability and rising costs, the industry has slowed down the pace of production growth, focusing on improving the efficiency of existing enterprises. This process began at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, and by mid—June there was a slight decrease in livestock and a positive trend in manufacturers' selling prices, the expert noted.

According to Rosstat, in January–May, poultry production for slaughter in live weight decreased by 2.1% year-on-year, to 2.76 million tons. In May, the decline accelerated to 4%. At the same time, wholesale prices rose sharply: a broiler carcass from June 29 to July 5 cost 228 rubles per 1 kg, which is 5% more than a week earlier and 25% year-on-year, according to AD Libitum data.

In the second half of 2026, we can expect a gradual stabilization of the market, but not a rapid recovery, says Artyom Suvorov. A return to higher volumes of poultry meat production may take about another six months, Albert Davleev agrees. According to him, in the second half of the year, the market will continue to be affected by two main risk factors: possible outbreaks of avian flu and an increase in feed costs in the event of a weak harvest. At the same time, the expert stressed, in recent years the industry has been able to effectively contain these risks due to increased biosafety measures and stable provision of grain to producers at affordable prices.