98 percent of Russians consume poultry on regular basis

Some 98 percent of the Russians consume poultry on a regular basis. Nevertheless, the volume of its per capita consumption in Russia accounts for 8 kilograms a year, half of Europe's average and only twenty percent of the US'. Late in 2000, a research was conducted, at the request of the Russian bureau of the U.S. council on export of poultry and eggs. The research was conducted in 25 major cities of Russia and among nearly 3,000 people. The respondents were mainly married women, aged between 25 and 60 years. The share of poultry in the meat ration of an average Russian amounts to 36 percent, whereas 40 percent is covered by other types of meat and 24 percent, by fish. At the same time, the share of hen meat in Russians' ration is on the rise owing to the decrease in pork and beef consumption, while turkey consumption remains low, a mere 1.5 to 2 percent. Among the poultry products Russians buy most frequently there are domestically produced frozen hen quarters and chilled broilers. The former is preferred by 76 percent of the respondents and the latter, by 61 percent. Russians are prepared to pay 5-7 percent more on average for Russian products than for imported analogues. According to the opinion poll's results, imported frozen hen quarters are attractive to Russian consumers mainly because they are easy to cook. Moreover, 80 percent of Russians buying cheaper hen quarters compared with other types of meat are low-income consumers.