Russian dairy businesses intend to join forces to grow exports of products

MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - Russia's dairy businesses plan to consolidate efforts in order to develop exports, increase their volume and make products more competitive, the National Union of Milk Producers (Soyuzmoloko) said in a press release following its first committee meeting on exports, chaired by the board chairman of the Logic of Milk company, Ruslan Alisultanov.

The committee was set up at the end of September this year.

"In my view, our industry does not currently make up a big enough share of the overall volume of agricultural exports. Furthermore, exports to non-CIS countries only make up 15%-20%, and this also needs to be increased," Alisultanov is quoted as saying in the press release. "Dairy producers are striving to expand the geographical reach of their supplies and become more active in entering markets in the Middle East, Africa and China. And, of course, in order to achieve this, they need an effective industry association, since everyone faces the same challenges - problems with certification, the parameters of state support, access to foreign legislative documents and many more. It is important to discuss all of this together, formulate a unified industry position and make proposals to the government."

"Developing exports is not simply a matter of increasing supply volumes, but a question of strategic competitiveness for the entire Russian dairy industry," Soyuzmoloko CEO Artyom Belov is quoted as saying in the press release. "We must focus not only on current opportunities but also on building long-term competitive advantages."

He said that particular attention would be paid to developing exports of high value-added products - cheeses, special dairy ingredients and functional food items. "It is these categories which form the industry's image on the international stage. It is therefore critically important to ensure that state support measures are synchronized to the actual needs of exporters, from transport logistics to laboratory testing and certification," Belov said.

The committee will also be tasked with creating an effective industry analysis system which will make it possible to forecast changes on key markets and adapt swiftly to new requirements.

CEO of federal center Agroexport Ilya Ilyushin said that coordination at all levels was required in order for the work on increasing exports to be effective - from the producer to federal development institutions - and the creation of an export committee will allow this cooperation vertical to form.

"In our eyes, the key task is to create a transparent communication system in which producers receive up-to-date information on the requirements of foreign markets and the government receives feedback on the real barriers businesses face. Such a dialogue will allow for targeted problem solving and will enable the presence of Russian dairy products on the global market to be systematically increased," he said.

At the meeting, the committee made the decision to formulate a proposal for exporters to address to the Agricultural Ministry, asking for the parameters of state support in export logistics and certification to be adjusted further. It also resolved to decide on a collective stance regarding certification and research conditions, as well as create a detailed list of exporters' requirements for forming a database of the regulatory documents of foreign countries, including a list of destination countries.