Mikhail Mishchenko: raw milk production in Russia increased by 1% compared to 2020

Earlier it became known that Rusmolco increased milk production by 38% within 9 months of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

‘Rusmolco showed a really impressive result. However, the question is that, unfortunately, there are few such companies in our country, and, as a rule, these are the largest recipients of state support. The growth rate of raw milk production in Russia has significantly decreased, and now amounts to about 1% compared to last year. When the market grows by a maximum of 1%, and one company - by 38%, there is an obvious imbalance,’ Mikhail Mishchenko commented.

The expert added: in this matter, it should be understood that due to uneven state support, the market is actually growing at the expense of several major players, and their market share is increasing annually. ‘If we look at the statistics of Penza region, over the past 2 years, Rusmolco has significantly increased its volumes and began to produce about half of the total volume of raw milk. And the number of peasant farm holdings and individual entrepreneurs in the region has not increased, and perhaps even decreased,’ Mikhail Mishchenko concluded.

The expert noted that such a bias in state support is very convenient for the state, which, in his understanding, "is primarily aimed not at results, but at PR." The second problem is that there is simply not enough money to distribute financing among everyone, and only a select few among the entire market get it. As a result, small farms do not receive state support, trying to survive on their own, which leads to a reduction in livestock and negative dynamics of raw milk production.