Russian dairy exports soar

Russia’s exports of dairy products increased by 18% year-on-year in 2023, the head of the National Union of Dairy Producers, Artyom Belov, said on Monday, as cited by TASS.

”The growth of consumption and exports has become a major driver for the domestic market over the past several years, particularly in 2023,” Belov said, adding that “consumption rose by nearly 5% versus 2022.”

He added that Russia had begun exporting the types of dairy products for which demand is high globally, including those considering dairy commodities. “For example, exports of powdered skim milk saw a nearly fivefold growth, while suppliers of powdered whey almost tripled,” Belov explained.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Skvortsov, the head of food and processing at the Russian Agriculture Ministry, said that Russian dairy products are now sold to around 60 countries and that almost three-quarters of domestic enterprises export their output.

”Traditionally, Russia sells dairy products to the CIS states and former Soviet countries,” Skvortsov said, adding that the latter category has seen a strong expansion.   

He also mentioned that Russian producers had started exporting products to Algeria, the world’s second-biggest consumer of dairy.

Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev recently noted that raw milk production in the country has been growing over the past five years, adding that it reached 33.5 million metric tons in 2023, nearly 0.5 million metric tons more than during the previous year.

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