Русский
Russia exported dairy products worth more than US$500 million in 2025, with supplies going to almost 100 countries worldwide, the head of the Agroexport federal center Ilya Ilyushin, said at the third forum of dairy industry leaders in Moscow on Tuesday (January 20). The final sales volumes are likely to be higher, as the December EAEU import data has not yet been factored in.
Ilyushin stated that “The dairy industry is not yet a leader in agricultural exports. Dairy products account for 1.2% of total exports of agricultural products. In 2025, exports exceeded US$500 million. We do not yet have data on supplies to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) for December, but considering this is the main export direction, we can be confident that the final figure will be over US$500 million.”
Ilyushin added that even without EAEU data for December, exports have already exceeded the level for 2024, with growth at 13%. This includes a 21% increase in supplies of fermented milk products and packaged milk, 13% growth in cheeses and cottage cheese, a 28% rise in condensed milk, 29% growth for ice cream, and a more than twofold rise in whey supplies.
The basis of Russia’s dairy exports consists of cheeses and cottage cheese (32%), fermented milk products (24%), and ice cream (15%).
Ilyushin stated that “Considering that significant amounts of world trade are in dry dairy products, their share in our exports will also grow. This is shown by a substantial increase last year at 2.2-fold.” The center estimates the potential of Russian exports of dry dairy products (whey, skimmed milk powder, and whole milk powder) by 2030 at over US$140 million, 2.5-fold higher than in 2025.
Russian dairy products are supplied to almost 100 countries worldwide, with the main buyers being post-Soviet countries. In shipments of dairy whey, the top five importing countries include China and Egypt. In ice cream exports, Mongolia holds third place. In this regard, one of the main tasks is the geographical diversification of dairy exports and the development of new markets.
According to Agroexport’s estimate, exports of dairy products may exceed US$730 million in 2030, which is almost 1.5 times higher than the 2025 level. Among the most promising development markets are China, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Southeast Asian countries.
The growth in export potential is due to an increase in the raw material base. The production of commercial milk in Russia increased 3.9% in January-November 2025. Production has been growing at approximately this rate in all recent years.
Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand lead as the world’s top dairy exporters by value, with Germany often first for overall dairy products and New Zealand consistently the largest milk exporter, followed by countries like the US, France, and Belgium, exporting dairy products like milk, cheese, and butter globally. Russia aims to enter the top ten global dairy exporters, which currently also include France, Australia, Poland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Global dairy consumption is rising, driven by population growth and rising incomes, with significant increases in developing nations like India and Pakistan, while developed regions focus on cheese and functional products; India, the EU, and the US lead consumption, but Asia overall is the biggest production and consumption region, though only 8-10% of global milk is internationally traded.
Further Reading
Russia Targets Dairy Export Increases To Africa, the Middle East & Asia
