At the moment, dairy products from Russia are supplied to almost 70 countries, but there is an opportunity to increase the volumes.
It is planned that by 2030, dairy exports from Russia can bring in up to 730 million dollars annually.
At the same time, about 140 million dollars of this amount can be accounted for by dry milk products, experts note.
At the moment, countries of the far abroad look very promising, including China, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, as well as some countries in Southeast Asia.
«Traditionally, we exported products to the markets of the post-Soviet states, but we are gradually beginning to open new markets.
Last year, there was an increase in exports to China (by 60%), Mongolia, significant supplies of dry milk products began to Algeria and Egypt,» notes the head of the federal center «Agroexport» Ilya Ilyushin.
It should also be noted that the global dairy market is very large, with annual trade volumes in monetary terms reaching around $100 billion.
Therefore, it is very promising for Russia to be part of this market. Moreover, in the coming years, the global dairy market is likely to grow, primarily due to regions of the world such as Africa, Asia and the Middle East. This gives reason to expect that exporting countries, including Russia, will be able to further increase their income.
In general, it is planned that in the current 2025, dairy export volumes will amount to around 1.1 million tons, which does not exceed the 2024 level.
However, in monetary terms, over the past year, cheese supplies increased by 26%, milk by 35%, and dry milk by 15%. That is, we see a significant increase in prices that occurred during the year.
In total, dairy exports brought Russian companies about $370 million last year, analysts note.
At the same time, milk production in Russia is growing relatively slowly.
For example, in January-October 2024, it grew by only 2% compared to the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of cows decreased by 3%, which is quite an alarming factor.
At the same time, demand for dairy products is also growing in the country. All these are restraining factors for the development of exports.
Moreover, Russia is actively importing dairy products; in January-September, about 5 million tons in milk equivalent were imported, which is an increase of 13%.
Thus, Russia remains a net importer of dairy products for now.
