Russia does not have enough domestic whey for breast milk substitutes - Alex Lysakov

Earlier, we reported that the Russian Government extended for 2021 the possibility of importing demineralized whey powder with a demineralization level of 90%, which is intended for the production of infant formula, from countries subject to the Russian food embargo.

Alexey Lysakov said that this permission was extended at the request of the representatives of JSC Infaprim. He noted that at the moment in Russia there is only one manufacturer of whey for the creation of dry infant formula – Agrocomplex named after Tkachev. At the same time, according to the expert, this enterprise has insufficient production volumes.

‘Separately, I want to say that we are very supportive of the Agrocomplex named after Tkachev, which is trying to make good whey. We buy from them all the volume they produce and hope that they will reach large production figures and will be able to compete on equal terms with the Europeans. They are trying, and we hope very much that as soon as the volumes increase, the decision to extend the import of whey to Russia will not be extended any more,’ the expert said.

According to him, there is also a Belarusian manufacturer of whey, but European suppliers, according to Alexey Lysyakov, are also needed. He noted that all other manufacturers of breast milk substitutes have unlimited access to Western whey and import it in the form of ready-made infant formula, so this measure applies only to a single Russian manufacturer, because of this, according to the expert, it does not make much sense.

At the same time, he noted that if there is more than one manufacturer of breast milk substitutes in Russia, this measure will make sense, since it will apply to all, and not just one manufacturer. According to the expert, Nestle recently announced the construction of a new plant, Nutricia is also going to make a joint production with another company.

Alexey Lysyakov believes that this year the supplies of whey will not be increased, as this, in his opinion, is not necessary. The expert reminded that there is only one buyer who has enough even less than the requested volume. Last year, it amounted to 3 thousand tons, but in fact only 1-1. 5 thousand tons are required.

- We don't really want to buy whey made in Europe. We try to support our customers so that they have a sense to produce their products. However, we are now in comfort. We are happy: we have a maneuver, we can produce, and this is good,’ concluded Alexey Lysyakov.