EU dairy exports to Russia on the rise

EU dairy exports and butter consumption are rising in Russia, according to Irish food board, Bord Bia.

At present 40% of EU cheese exports go to Russia and the US. Russian cheese imports from the EU could rise further as cheese supplies from Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania have fallen sharply over recent months, said Alla Barinova, manager of Bord Bia Moscow.

This has led Russian importers to look to German and Austrian suppliers, especially for gouda and edam cheeses, which prices have been rising by around 5% monthly over recent times. As Russia relies heavily on cheese imports, buyers are likely to look to other European suppliers to meet demand, Barinova added.

In spite of a 5% drop in EU cheese exports to Russia in 2009, figures for the first quarter of 2010 are increasing.

Butter sales in Russia are also increasing and last year Russia was the biggest buyer of EU butter, importing a total 19,000 tonnes. Russia is expected to remain a key butter importer as domestic production of butter continues to fall, said Barinova, adding that the main exporters of butter to Russian are Belarus, New Zealand and Finland.

"This rise in butter consumption can be attributed to consumer's increased perception of butter as a healthy quality product, the opening of premium bakery cafe chains in Moscow and St. Petersburg and increased marketing campaigns by leading import brands such as Lurpak, President and Valio," Barinova said.