The Ministry of Agriculture in Russia will use regulatory levers to curb milk prices

Russia produced 33.5 million tons of milk in 2023 - 0.5 million tons more than in 2022, Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev said at the Soyuzmolok congress. And the growth in the production of raw milk stimulates an increase in the production of finished products: cream - by almost 21%, cheeses - by 16%, ice cream - by 12%, dry dairy products - by 8%. Patrushev recalled that, according to the Food Security Doctrine, the country should have 90% of its own milk. So far, 85% is produced in Russia. But we cover almost all of the remaining 15% through imports from Belarus. About 5 million tons of dairy products are imported from there - mainly cheeses, butter, fermented milk products and drinking milk. According to Soyuzmolok General Director Artem Belov, the main drivers of the domestic market in 2023 were an increase in consumption (by about 5%) and exports of dairy products (by 18%). Thus, supplies of skimmed milk powder increased almost fivefold, and whey powder tripled. ...