Consumption of dairy products in the country is 86 kg below the norm

In 2015, according to Rosstat, the consumption was also at 239 kg/person. “Agroinvestor” earlier predicted that in 2016, the consumption in this category can be reduced to 235-237 kg/person, since there is a negative dynamics of the real disposable income. According to preliminary data of Rosstat, in 2016, it decreased by 5.9% compared to 2015.

According to the evaluation of the National Union of milk producers ("Soyuzmoloko"), the share of dairy products in the cost structure of food basket in different regions is 20-30%. According to Rosstat, in the third quarter the last year dairy products occupied 16.3% in the structure of expenditures on food for on the average in the country. During the past year the overall inflation was 5.4%, food rose in price by 4.6%, but milk and dairy products increased in price by 9.5%. So, whole pasteurized milk in the past year rose from 47,38 rubles/l to 51,53 rubles/l, and since the beginning of 2017 it added 0.8%. The price of butter this year increased by 1.4% to 492,5 rubles/kg. In January 2016 it cost 399,76 rubles/kg. The price of cheese increased by 1% since the beginning of the year to 469,25 rubles/kg. During 2016, cheese rose in price from 405,17 rubles/kg to 462,63 RUB/kg.

The demand for dairy products is heavily dependent on the purchasing power of the population: the increase in real disposable income is accompanied by growing popularity of more expensive milk consuming products (cheese, butter) and products with more sophisticated technological cycle (yogurt, kefir, fermented baked milk, functional beverages). But the consumption of drinking milk is less correlated with the dynamics of income and, as a rule, remains on the same level, said Executive Director of "Soyuzmoloko" Artem Belov.

Purchasing power began to decline in 2014, when with the average monthly monetary income, the consumer could afford to buy not 631 liters of drinking milk like in 2013, but only 570 liters and butter — 82 kg vs 94 kg. In 2015, the situation has worsened: with the average monthly earnings the average Russian could afford to buy only 561 litres of milk or 78 kg of butter. In January-November, 2016, the figures decreased to 517,4 liters of milk and 70.4 kg of butter.

In 2016, the production of dairy products in Russia increased by 1.4% to 11.8 million tons. The production of cheese increased by 2.5% to almost 600 thousand tons, of drinking milk by 1.2% to 5.5 million tons, but the butter was produced by 3.5% less than in 2015 — 247,4 thousand tons, follows from the data of Rosstat. Thus, according to the Federal customs service, imports of butter increased - in January-November 2016 89,4 thousand tons of butter was imported, which is 3.1% more than in the same period of 2015. The supplies of whole milk decreased by 9.5% to 217,3 thousand tons. But the import of milk powder and condensed milk added 13% to 211,5 thousand tons Also the import of dairy products has increased by 5.8%, amounting to 80,9 thousand tons, cheese and cottage cheese - by 5.5% (200,3 thousand tons).

The production of raw milk last year decreased by 0.2%, gross milk yield in all farms amounted to 30.7 million tons. The agricultural companies increased their volumes by 2.2% to 15 million tons. The purchase price of raw milk for the year 2016 increased from 21.91 rubles/kg to 23,89 rubles/kg, or by 9%, reports Rosstat.

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