Farmers are eligible to receive concessional loans for the purchase of animal health products, provided that at least 50% of the purchased drugs are locally produced, the letter notes. The support program is driven by rising prices for foreign-made medicines and pharmaceutical raw materials. The Ministry of Agriculture is apprehensive about the increase in the cost of animal products and the decrease in production growth rates, the paper notes.
According to the RNC Pharma analytical company, the total volume of the Russian retail animal health market (excluding online segment) reached 10,8 billion rubles in the first half of 2022. The sales have seen a drop of 2% compared to the same period in 2021.
At the same time the share of domestic animal health products in retail market totalled 31,8% in rubles (down 0,1 % compared to the same time last year), and 61,1 % (down 0,6%) in minimum dosage units.
As Veterinary and Life reported earlier, the National Veterinary Association, which brings together large animal health companies, declared its willingness to completely replace foreign-made products subject to support from the government.
According to Sergei Yushin, the head of the National Meat Association, animal health products account for about 3% of farmers expenses. He shared his thoughts with V&L, saying that veterinarians working on farms are unlikely to put concessional lending with its complex reporting system ahead of the quality of animal disease prevention and treatment.
