The largest poultry producing regions in Russia have reported significant losses in the first half of 2013 because of drought conditions, high feed prices and the unforeseen effects of the country joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). Since joining the WTO import duties on pork fell dramatically causing a price drop for poultry as well while flooding the market with cheap pork. Because the government has not increase supplies of foreign poultry to the market, meat processors have replaced the chicken they would usually use as raw materials for sausages for example with cheap frozen pork. As a result, the poultry industry has been hit by a combination of overproduction, adverse weather conditions, high feed costs, and low prices.
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