Russian 'ravioli' revolution
habits - the rise of the country's beer industry is evidence of
that - but there is still plenty of life left in some of the
country's more traditional food sectors.
One such sector is that of pelmeni - a traditional Russian dish akin to ravioli - which is more than managing to hold its own despite increasing incomes and more sophisticated consumers.
A recent study of the pelmeni market by Russian market research group Market Advice showed that total sales in 2003 were around 450,000 tons, accounting for around 65 per cent of all frozen meat products sold in Russia.
But while most pelmeni producers believe that the market will continue to grow in the next few years, albeit at relatively low levels, this growth will not be uniformly spread across the country.
In the larger urban centres such as Moscow, where consumer spending is increasing, low-price frozen food products such as pelmeni are becoming less popular. In more rural areas, where incomes are still low, the market remains buoyant.
The popularity of these products among low-income households means that vast majority of pelmeni wholesale in the 31-50 roubles per kilogramme range, with 80 per cent of producers quizzed by market Advice saying that they made pelmeni for sale in this category.
But 40 per cent said they made even cheaper pelmeni - up to 30 roubles/kg - while just 7 per cent said that they made more expensive pelmeni - 91 to 120 roubles/kg.
And most producers also expect to see little change, with the under-50-roubles/kg category likely to dominate output until at least 2005.
Nearly a half of the respondents indicated that they expected the market as a whole to grow by up to 10 per cent in 2004, while just under 33 per cent said they expected to see little change on the previous year.
But the market will not remain unaffected by the steady growth in Russian incomes, Market Advice's survey showed, with most of those producers questioned by the company suggesting that a significant change would take place over the next two to three years, in particular the adoption of more sophisticated Italian-style production techniques.
Pelmeni producers are also likely to expand their product ranges, experimenting with new fillings (almost all are meat-based at present) and modernising their production facilities to meet more sophisticated consumer demands.
