Ekaterina Zakharova: the fall of the ruble will provoke an increase in the price of dairy imports

‘It is worth noting that the ruble has been fairly stable this year, and yesterday was the most significant drop since August. Oil prices have declined, and if the same trend continues, the ruble will become another factor in the growth of the import price of dairy products, and, accordingly, the index indicator,’ said Ekaterina Zakharova during a closed meeting of the DIA expert council.

The analyst also demonstrated the indicative impact of the ruble exchange rate on price dynamics and competitiveness in the dairy market.

‘According to IFCN estimates, $44 per 100 kg is the average price on the world market. It peaked in April at $47 per 100 kg, and this was the peak over the past few years. If we recalculate the peak of 2021 and the peak of 2014 in rubles, then the price of milk on the world dairy market was higher than it is now. Prices are steadily rising in our country now, and this is due to the ruble exchange rate and the fact that we import many products,’ Ekaterina Zakharova added. It should be noted that prices have increased from 17.9 rubles in 2014 to 32 rubles in 2021. 

According to DIA, this trend is also associated with an increase in prices for exchange-traded products, a decrease in demand from China, a slowdown in milk production on the world market and in Russia, as well as an increase in cost.