MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. Russia may achieve self-sufficiency in terms of dairy production in the next three to four years, director general of the National Union of Dairy Producers (Soyuzmoloko) Artyom Belov said at a press conference in TASS.
"I think that if we look forward three or four years, we will indeed be able to reach self-sufficiency indicators currently provided for in the food security doctrine," Belov stated.
The dairy industry has demonstrated stable and sustainable incremental production growth at a level of 3% over the last seven years, Belov noted. "Do not be misled by this figure. Three percent is indeed a good result for a very complex, investment-intensive and rather rigid sector. Probably, if we look at the dynamics of our main competitor countries, very few can boast such growth rates, particularly over such a long period of time," he stressed.
Russia managed to slash imports by 30% during this period of time while also boosting exports, which reached $500 mln as of 2022 year-end, Belov said. The year of 2022, despite all its challenges, also enabled the industry to show positive dynamics. Incremental production growth stood at about 3%, imports dropped by about 10% and exports ramped up, the expert added.