An upward price rally on the Russian pet food market, which pushed the average retail price on the shelves by nearly 50% during the last two years, is set to continue in 2025, according to local sources.
Since early 2025, the average price of premium and super premium pet food has increased by 8% to 9%. By the end of the year, prices could rise by about 20%, estimated Olga Lebedinskaya, associate professor at the Russian University of Economics.
Like 2024, the average price of high-end products in Russia is rising at a much faster pace compared with the budget segment. For instance, last year, the cost of some premium products on the Russian pet food market surged by 80%, while in the budget segment, the average price climbed by only 16%, Lebedinskaya reported.
Pet food prices in Russia are rising under pressure from a mix of factors: new veterinary restrictions, labeling reform and increased taxation, to name a few.
Import restrictions create a pain point
On January 20, the Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselhoznadzor restricted imports of pet food ingredients from the EU after Germany registered the first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 37 years.
The ban affected the supply of flavors and taste enhancers for pet food production, which are rarely manufactured in Russia, according to Kirill Dmitriev, chairman of the National Association of the Pet Industry. He also warned that this could bring pet food production at some Russian factories to a halt.
Russian pet food manufacturers have warehouse stocks of necessary ingredients to keep operations running for at least a few months.
“We have a stock of feed ingredients and alternative recipes,” Mars commented in a statement on its Russian website. “In addition, we have applied to Rosselhoznadzor with a request to certify the foreign facility that produces an ingredient we use, and we hope to receive permission to import this component in the near future.”
The Russian pet food industry consensus is that some alternative solutions will eventually be invented to keep production humming, but they will most certainly come at a cost.
Compliance with pet food labeling reform complicates
The National Association of the Pet Industry warned that Russian pet food prices are expected to rise due to costs associated with labeling reform. Mandatory labeling for wet pet food began on October 1, 2024, and for dry pet food on March 1, 2025. Pet food manufacturers, however, are still facing challenges in complying with the new regulations.
“The biggest issue is associated with labeling of small packages of wet food – 75 to 100 grams pouches,” Dmitriev explained, adding that in addition to bearing the cost of labeling, manufacturers have faced some unexpected problems. “The labeling system occasionally fails to properly scan the labeling codes from glossy packages,” Dmitriev said.
The transition to matte packaging could solve the problem, but in the Russian market, it’s 15% to 20% more expensive. In addition, a segment of Russian pet food manufacturers has yet to even receive the labeling equipment due to sanction-related problems in making payments to foreign suppliers, Dmitriev noted.
New tax helps homeless animals, fuels price increase
Some new initiatives promise to fuel the price increase in the Russian pet food market. For example, in March 2025, a group of Russian lawmakers introduced a bill imposing an excise duty on dry pet food. The money collected from the levy, which would be paid by pet food importers and manufacturers, is designed to be spent on homeless animals.
The Russian pet food industry has opposed any further tax increases on manufacturers, noting that the corporate tax rate was already raised from 20% to 25% on January 1, 2025.
“The measure looks like some kind of sabotage against the pet food industry. It is simply impossible to introduce additional excise taxes at the moment when the industry is going through difficult times,” Dmitriev said, citing the labeling reform and ongoing import-replacement campaign on the Russian pet food market.
“The new excise tax will lead to even greater price increases and will hit the low-income strata of the Russian population,” Dmitriev warned.
On the flip side, the initiative could bolster demand in the Russian pet food market since the some of the collected money will go toward purchasing pet food for shelters. According to one of the largest charitable foundations for helping homeless animals, Nika, there are 4.1 million homeless animals in Russia: around 3.2 million cats and 735,000 dogs. Under the Russian Environmental Ministry plan, 674 new shelters will be needed in the country in the coming years.