Russian dairy production rises across the board
Virtually all segments of the Russian dairy industry posted a rise in output in 2024, the Russian Agricultural Ministry outlined in a recent statement.
Drinking milk production climbed by 5% compared with the previous year to 6.1 million tonnes, the ministry said. Cheese production rose by 5.1% to 841,000 tonnes, and cottage cheese, which is a separate production category in the country, increased by 5% to 474,500 tonnes. Ice cream appeared to be the best performer among all industry segments, with the output shooting up by 16.6% to 600,000 tonnes. Cream production jumped by 14.7% to 362,000 tonnes, and yoghurt production by 6.6% to 791,000 tonnes. Fermented milk production edged up by 3.2%, reaching 2.7 million tonnes.
The positive dynamics in the Russian dairy industry were facilitated by a steady rise in raw milk production, the Ministry emphasised. Last year, Russian milk farms manufactured 34.07 million tonnes of raw milk, which is 0.8% up compared with the previous year.
Generous state aid
The dairy industry is subject to some of the highest state aid among all segments of Russian agriculture, the Ministry noted. In 2024, Russian spent Rub 81 billion (US$910 million) to support dairy manufacturers, nearly a quarter higher than a year earlier.
“Support measures aimed at developing dairy industry companies help to curb price growth despite a significant increase in production costs in many areas. In particular, costs for energy resources, equipment, machinery and spare parts, packaging, transportation costs, loan servicing and other components are growing,” the ministry stated.
Not an easy year
Although there were positives in the Russian dairy industry, last year was not easy for businesses, Artem Belov, chairman of the Russian Union of Dairy Manufacturers Soyuzmoloko, told local press.
One of the key challenges was that during the last few years, the consumption of dairy products in Russia has grown faster than raw milk production, he said. “Consumption grows as the real disposable incomes of the Russian population are on the rise,” Belov said.
During 2024, the disparity between growth in production and consumption translated into sharp price fluctuations in the market.
According to Soyuzmoloko, Russian dairy production will reach 38.9 million tonnes in 2030, almost 5 million tonnes up compared with 2024. The domestic consumption will rise by 1.5% on average per year, primarily in the cheese, ice cream, and cream segments.
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