Russian 2017 milk production forecast to fall half percent

The latest USDA annual report on Russian milk and dairy production has been posted, here’s a few highlights.

Cows-in-milk will decrease by 3% to 7.32 million head due to low investment in cattle over the last two years although fluid milk production will decline at a slower pace due to rising per cow yields at leading farms.

Household farms account for around half the national herd but raw milk from households is excluded or has limited access to the industrial dairy processing supply chain.

Commercial dairies are expected to increase fluid milk production in 2017, while backyard farms continue to decrease output although the increase will not offset the decline at backyards, as uncertainty in state support programs and budgets has stalled new investment.

As a result, total production of Russian fluid milk in 2017 is forecast to decline 0.5% to 30.195mmt.

This is an all time low and compares with record high's of 55-56mmt back in the early nineties. 

The economic benefits of highly productive dairy cattle is clearly understood by the Government and they recognize the need to improve the genetics of the country’s milking herd, however, budget constraints in 2017 will limit direct support.

Government support cattle breeding will be restricted to indirect support such as exemption from counter-sanctions trade restrictions for live cattle or genetic material imports and tax breaks for domestic and imported purebred breeding cattle, embryos, and semen of purebred bulls.