State support for Russian dairy industry grows by almost a third in 2024 to 81 bln rubles - AgMin

MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax) - State support for the Russian dairy industry grew to 81 billion rubles in 2024, up by almost a third from 62 billion rubles in 2023.

"The dairy industry is one of the most supported within the agro-industrial complex. Support for this industry stood at around 62 billion rubles in 2023, and in 2024 it was almost 81 billion rubles," the Agriculture Ministry said.

According to preliminary information, raw milk production at farms of all categories totaled 34.07 million tonnes in 2024, up 0.8% compared to the previous year. This drove the growth in production of dairy products.

Production of drinking milk stood at 6.1 million tonnes, up 5% compared to 2023, ice cream production amounted to 600,000 tonnes (+16.6%), cream production was 362,000 tonnes (+14.7%) and yogurt production was 791,000 tonnes (+6.6%).

As Rosstat previously reported, cheese makers produced 841,000 tonnes of cheese (+5.1%) while cottage cheese production increased 5% to 474,500 tonnes. However, butter production declined 1.4% to 331,000 tonnes.

Demand for dairy products has been growing significantly faster than production of commercial milk in recent years, National Union of Milk Producers (Soyuzmoloko) General Director Artem Belov was quoted as saying. In these conditions, increasing raw milk production is a strategic priority for maintaining a stable balance in the dairy industry, he said.