Markets ¦ IDM
May/June 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com · 35
Russia will significantly increase its dairy exports in 2021
The Russian dairy sector is in fear that 2021 could be worse
than the previous year
man of the Southern dairy union. "The sanctions, however,
gave the industry an impetus for further development," he
added.
The pandemic prompted Russian dairy companies to
adjust their business. Before the pandemic, when most people
worked in their offices, customers opted for expensive dairy
products in small packages for a quick one-time meal, according
to Synetsky.
In 2020, the demand in this segment dwindled, while the demand
for dairy products in family package size increased tremendously.
This trend was associated with decreasing purchasing
power and that an unprecedented share of office workers
started working remotely.
"It is quite clear that the consumer margin on products
in the family package is noticeably lower than that of
high-margin goods in individual package," Synetsky said, adding
that Russian dairy companies lost some part of the profit
as a result.
However, the market conditions were way better than forecast
in the initial period of the pandemic. The Russian government
authorized all food companies in the country
to continue business as usual, even during the complete
lockdown in March-May of 2020, and not a single dairy
company in the country reported that the pandemic
disrupted its operations.
An opinion poll conducted by the Russian information service
MilkNews showed that for most companies, 2020 sales were
more or less in line with their pre-coronavirus expectations.
"The sales have not dropped, but they have neither substantially
grown," commented Svetlana Abramova, production director
of the Talisky dairy plant, adding that the company managed
to improve sales by expanding the supply list of retail partners.
/international-dairy.com
/international-dairy.com
