Stuck with the horn: India has increased exports of cattle meat to Russia

In July 2025, India exported $21.2 million worth of cattle meat to Russia. This is 33 times more than last year, when the supply amount was only $640 thousand. In total, according to the results of the period from January to July, meat purchases from India amounted to $62.8 million (an increase of 2.6 times YoY). The details are in the Izvestia article.

Among the active buyers

With such indicators, Russia entered the top 5 importers of Indian meat. The key consumers of Indian meat are Vietnam, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates. India is actively developing meat exports. In July last year, the total volume amounted to $310 million, then in July this year it was already $401 million. In total, India exported $1.9 billion worth of cattle meat in the first half of the year, of which Russia accounted for $42 million, or about 2% of exports.

The experts interviewed attributed the huge increase in Indian beef exports to Russia, which exceeded previous figures by 33 times, to the effect of a low base. Therefore, even small changes in actual supply volumes lead to very large percentage increases in statistics, said Alexander Firanchuk, a leading researcher at the International Laboratory for Foreign Trade Research at the Presidential Academy.

— Moreover, meat is a fairly homogeneous product that is relatively easy to redirect from one market to another. Which is probably what happened," he says.

What is it really

Meat products that receive the label "beef" are actually buffalo meat, which are not considered sacred animals in India, unlike cows, which are forbidden to kill, says Anton Trenin, an expert at the ACRA corporate ratings group.

— Therefore, there is no religious conflict. Indian buffalo meat is in demand on the global market due to its competitive price and stable supply volumes. Russia has become one of the significant importers of this meat along with other countries in Asia and the Middle East," the expert noted.

And according to Alexander Firanchuk, in international statistics, the name of the product is referred to as "meat of cattle" (cattle). "For short, this meat is called "beef", which causes confusion," he added.

As part of the strategy

The growth of trade turnover is a natural result of the developing partnership. Thus, by the end of 2024, the volume of trade between Russia and India exceeded $70.6 billion (+9.2% YoY).

And while Russian exports increased by 8.4% to $65.7 billion due to a high base, Indian exports are growing at double-digit rates due to a low base. During 2024, imports from India increased to $4.9 billion, or by 21%. In the first half of 2025, the situation was similar: $32.7 billion worth of Russian products (mainly crude oil) were sold, and $2.2 billion worth of Indian products.

There is a trade imbalance, which in itself is not a problem, Alexander Firanchuk is sure.

— Nevertheless, there are risks associated with the repatriation of export earnings. If payments for Russian exports are made in non-convertible currencies such as the Indian rupee, this creates difficulties for companies. However, there have been no such reports recently," says Izvestia's source.

The need to increase trade is being discussed at the highest level. Thus, in July 2024, the XXII Russian-Indian annual summit "Russia-India: a Strong and Expanding Partnership" was held, at which the strategically important goal was outlined — to achieve a trade turnover of $100 billion by 2030, as well as to strengthen industrial, technological and investment partnership.

A special role in mutual trade is played by the decision to use national currencies in settlements, which cannot but worry the American authorities, says Yulia Makarenko, deputy director of the Banking Development Institute.

"In an attempt to slow down the process of de—dollarization in international settlements, the US authorities have taken a number of measures that created inconvenience in the short term, but eventually led to an acceleration of the abandonment of the dollar," she says.

At the same time, according to the expert, the Russian authorities have managed to solve the problem of billions of rupees stuck in accounts in Russia in 2023 by implementing several tools at once.

— The reason was a sharp imbalance between exports and imports. The problem was solved through the mechanisms of investment in the Indian economy. And besides, the popularity of this currency in Russia is growing. For example, the tourist flow between our countries increased by 20% in the first quarter of 2025. Last year, 83,000 Russians visited India. They create demand for rupees in Russian banks," the expert added.

What about Russian beef

In Russia, in the first half of 2025, according to ACRA estimates, beef production decreased by 3.5%, to 639.5 thousand tons in slaughter weight, which leads to a reduction in supply on the domestic market.

"At the same time, an increase in the cost of production and an increase in beef prices by more than 10% since the beginning of the year have stimulated an increase in imports of this type of meat, including Indian buffalo meat, which remains more affordable," says Anton Trenin.

In Russia, beef is produced by agricultural organizations, farms and households of the population. The decrease in production in the first half of 2025 accounted for all these categories more or less evenly, said Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult.

— The dynamics of beef price growth is determined by the rise in feed prices, the increase in livestock maintenance costs (veterinary drugs, housing and communal services) and the salary fund of employees. At the same time, rising prices provoke Russians to abandon this type of meat, which, in turn, directly affects production volumes, the expert says.

Not only delicious

According to the Association of Meat Processors, Russians began to consume more meat, from 73.2 kg per capita in 2014 to 83.65 kg in 2024. At the same time, beef consumption is falling. In 2024, Russians consumed an average of 13.48 kg of meat, compared to 15.8 kg in 2014.

Meanwhile, beef is one of the most valuable meat products, says Ekaterina Kosareva.

— Beef contains a lot of nutrients that the body needs. Protein, amino acids, potassium, phosphorus, potassium, fluorine, B vitamins. This type of meat is good for the circulatory system and muscles (especially if recovery is required). Beef is especially useful for those prone to anemia. Iron is absorbed into the blood an order of magnitude better than from plant sources of iron," she stressed.

Izvestia sent inquiries to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture, but received no responses at the time of publication.