Experts: Central Asian cheesemakers should target soft cheeses and foodservice, not hard cheeses

The discussion was prompted by an interview with Yegor Filippov, founder of the Syrnye Traditsii cheese dairy, who described Kazakhstan’s cheese market as “virtually empty.” Participants included Alexandra Grigolova, president of the Kazakhstan Cheesemakers Guild; Andrey Nagin, co-founder of the Stella Alpina cheese dairy; Akram Talibov, an expert on Central Asia’s agricultural and food sector; and Mikhail Mishchenko, publisher of DairyNews.today.

According to figures cited by Mikhail Mishchenko, Kazakhstan imported approximately 120,000 tonnes of cheese over 2023–2025. Imports declined in 2025: in his assessment, rising prices reduced demand. Shipments of hard, semi-hard, fresh and young cheeses are falling, while imports of fresh curd cheeses, cream cheeses and ricotta are growing. These cheeses are widely used in hotels, restaurants and catering (HoReCa), with Iranian brands driving most of the growth in this segment.

Participants agreed that the region cannot compete with Russia and Belarus on hard cheese prices. “We are already in different weight classes when it comes to raw material costs,” said Alexandra Grigolova. Akram Talibov added that Central Asian producers cannot compete with Russian suppliers even with logistics costs at their current record levels.

According to Mikhail Mishchenko, the region faces a milk shortage, and processors are choosing drinking milk and fermented dairy products over capital-intensive aged cheeses. The Soviet-era model of eating cheese on sandwiches is fading, and cheese in the region will compete with traditional fermented dairy products, whose share is set to grow. He also noted that natural mozzarella competes with cheap imported cagliata cheese curd from Iran, Russia and Belarus. In addition, global demand for whey proteins is turning cheese into a by-product and lowering its price on the world market.

Responding to a question from a registered participant about growth opportunities, the moderator pointed to soft cheeses, fresh curd cheeses and cream cheeses for HoReCa. “I would not recommend that anyone in Kazakhstan move into hard cheeses at present,” he said. Discussion participant Dmitry Zhuravlyov suggested looking at Italy’s experience, where local production is built around fresh cheeses—mozzarella, burrata and stracciatella—as well as considering yogurts and fermented dairy drinks.

The discussion will continue at the fourth Central Asian Dairy Congress, AqAltyn 2026, which will take place on November 30–December 1 in Shymkent. Registration: https://ads.dairynews.today/aqaltyn26/shymkent