An upward worth rally on the Russian pet meals market, which pushed the common retail worth on the cabinets by almost 50% over the past two years, is set to proceed in 2025, in accordance with native sources.
Since early 2025, the typical worth of premium and tremendous premium pet meals has elevated by 8% to 9%. By the top of the yr, costs may rise by about 20%, estimated Olga Lebedinskaya, affiliate professor on the Russian College of Economics.
Like 2024, the typical worth of high-end merchandise in Russia is rising at a a lot quicker tempo in contrast with the funds section. For example, final yr, the price of some premium merchandise on the Russian pet meals market surged by 80%, whereas within the funds section, the typical worth climbed by solely 16%, Lebedinskaya reported.
Pet meals costs in Russia are rising beneath stress from a mixture of elements: new veterinary restrictions, labeling reform and elevated taxation, to identify a number of.
Import restrictions create a ache level
On January 20, the Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselhoznadzor restricted imports of pet meals substances from the EU after Germany registered the primary outbreak of foot-and-mouth illness in 37 years.
The ban affected the availability of flavors and style enhancers for pet meals manufacturing, that are hardly ever manufactured in Russia, in accordance with Kirill Dmitriev, chairman of the Nationwide Affiliation of the Pet Business. He additionally warned that this might convey pet meals manufacturing at some Russian factories to a halt.
Russian pet meals producers have warehouse shares of essential substances to maintain operations operating for not less than a number of months.
“We now have a inventory of feed substances and various recipes,” Mars commented in an announcement on its Russian web site. “As well as, we now have utilized to Rosselhoznadzor with a request to certify the overseas facility that produces an ingredient we use, and we hope to obtain permission to import this element within the close to future.”
The Russian pet meals trade consensus is that some various options will finally be invented to maintain manufacturing buzzing, however they are going to most actually come at a value.
Compliance with pet meals labeling reform complicates
The Nationwide Affiliation of the Pet Business warned that Russian pet meals costs are anticipated to rise because of prices related to labeling reform. Necessary labeling for moist pet meals started on October 1, 2024, and for dry pet meals on March 1, 2025. Pet meals producers, nevertheless, are nonetheless dealing with challenges in complying with the brand new laws.
“The most important difficulty is related to labeling of small packages of moist meals – 75 to 100 grams pouches,” Dmitriev defined, including that in addition to bearing the price of labeling, producers have confronted some sudden issues. “The labeling system often fails to correctly scan the labeling codes from shiny packages,” Dmitriev mentioned.
The transition to matte packaging may remedy the issue, however within the Russian market, it’s 15% to twenty% dearer. As well as, a section of Russian pet meals producers has but to even obtain the labeling tools because of sanction-related issues in making funds to overseas suppliers, Dmitriev famous.
New tax helps homeless animals, fuels worth improve
Some new initiatives promise to gas the value improve within the Russian pet meals market. For instance, in March 2025, a bunch of Russian lawmakers launched a invoice imposing an excise responsibility on dry pet meals. The cash collected from the levy, which might be paid by pet meals importers and producers, is designed to be spent on homeless animals.
The Russian pet meals trade has opposed any additional tax will increase on producers, noting that the company tax charge was already raised from 20% to 25% on January 1, 2025.
“The measure seems to be like some sort of sabotage in opposition to the pet meals trade. It’s merely unattainable to introduce extra excise taxes in the mean time when the trade goes via tough instances,” Dmitriev mentioned, citing the labeling reform and ongoing import-replacement marketing campaign on the Russian pet meals market.
“The brand new excise tax will result in even larger worth will increase and will hit the low-income strata of the Russian inhabitants,” Dmitriev warned.
On the flip aspect, the initiative may bolster demand within the Russian pet meals market for the reason that a few of the collected cash will go towards buying pet meals for shelters. In accordance with one of many largest charitable foundations for serving to homeless animals, Nika, there are 4.1 million homeless animals in Russia: round 3.2 million cats and 735,000 canine. Below the Russian Environmental Ministry plan, 674 new shelters will likely be wanted within the nation within the coming years.
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