Experts have estimated the share of illegal trafficking in the meat market in the Russian Federation

The share of illegal turnover of meat products in Russia is 20%. On July 7, Izvestia was informed about this assessment at the Institute of State and Municipal Administration (IGMU) Higher School of Economics.

According to experts, due to the shadow market segment, legal businesses will miss over 75 billion rubles in revenue over several years. At the same time, the state budget will not receive about 30 billion rubles of revenue — these funds risk remaining in the illegal sector.

To assess the shadow sector, experts compared how much meat was produced and imported into Russia, and how much was actually consumed. The difference is products that are not included in official statistics and are considered illegal. The calculation was based on data from Rosstat, the Federal Customs Service, industry associations, and financial statements from companies.

According to calculations, only in the first year after the introduction of labeling, the effect of whitewashing the meat market could reach 4 billion rubles for the state and 12 billion rubles for producers. According to experts, labeling will add no more than 0.4% to the retail price — this difference will be almost invisible to the buyer.

To put in a stew: wholesale pork prices have collapsed due to market glut

Should consumers expect this meat to become cheaper at retail

In Russia, in November last year, large-scale testing of a new labeling system for meat products, semi-finished products and frozen food products was announced. The experiment on meat products was supposed to last until February 28, 2026. The goal is to create a unified approach to labeling this category of goods and to select the most effective technologies for applying identification tools. Participation was voluntary and free of charge.