Russia's dairy exports increased by 18% in 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching around 60 countries, according to Artyom Belov, the head of the National Union of Dairy Producers. He highlighted the growth in consumption and exports as major drivers for the domestic market, with a nearly 5% rise in consumption compared to 2022.
The country has started exporting dairy products with high global demand, including powdered skim milk (up nearly fivefold) and powdered whey (almost tripled). Vladimir Skvortsov, head of food and processing at the Russian Agriculture Ministry, mentioned that almost three-quarters of domestic enterprises now export their dairy products, with traditional markets in the CIS states and former Soviet countries expanding, and new markets such as Algeria opening up.
Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev noted a consistent increase in raw milk production over the past five years, reaching 33.5 million metric tons in 2023, nearly 0.5 million metric tons more than the previous year.