Having achieved a high level of self-sufficiency in meat and meat products, Russia is a significant player in the global animal protein market with a great potential for further development of the national beef industry. In the context of this research, the author gives a quantitative and qualitative description of the world meat market and its commodity structure and analyzes the main trends in its development. The study of a wide array of statistical data allowed the author to determine with a high degree of certainty the role of Russia in the formation of global food resources and the supply of meat products on the world market, as well as to identify the most promising areas for the development of Russian animal husbandry. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.