Russia’s cheese giants: The leading producers of 2023

The study considers only hard and semi-hard cheeses, excluding fresh and processed varieties. It also accounts for both natural cheeses and cheese-based products, without differentiating between them. Notably, cheese packaging operations conducted for third-party manufacturers were excluded from the analysis. As a result, two of the largest cheese packaging firms—PiR Group (23,000 tonnes) and Neva-Milk (16,000 tonnes)—were not included in the ranking.

Russia’s largest cheese producers (2023, in thousand tonnes):

1. Yugovskoy Dairy Plant – 47.0

2. FoodLand Group – 31.3

3. Perso (Wimm-Bill-Dann) – 23.0

4. VAMIN Group – 19.8

5. Ilmakovsky Dairy Plant / Farming North-West – 19.3

6. T&V Starodub Cheese – 19.0

7. Kirpichno Group – 17.0

8. DMK Group – 16.4

9. Damol Dairy – 15.7

10. Dominant Group – 15.3

11. Molvest Group – 14.4

12. Savencia Fromage & Dairy – 14.0

13. KOMOS Group – 13.8

14. Azbuka Syra – 13.6

15. M.I.K Group (Uva-Moloko) – 13.2

16. Syrobogatov Group – 11.6

17. Rusagro Group – 9.2

18. Agrocomplex named after N.I. Tkachev – 9.0

19. Syrnaya Dolina – 8.5

20. Kabosh Group – 6.2

The ranking underscores the dominance of Yugovskoy Dairy Plant, which led the industry with 47,000 tonnes of cheese production in 2023. FoodLand Group followed with 31,300 tonnes, while Perso, a subsidiary of Wimm-Bill-Dann, secured third place with 23,000 tonnes.

The overall results reflect the growing competitiveness of Russian cheese manufacturers, as firms continue to scale production and modernize operations to meet rising domestic demand. However, challenges remain, including inflationary pressures on raw materials and evolving regulatory requirements. Industry experts expect further consolidation and investment in local dairy infrastructure as Russian producers seek to strengthen their position in the global dairy market.