MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. Russia’s exports of dairy products increased by 14% in volume and 19% in value between January and May 2026, reaching over 104,000 tons worth more than $245 mln, the Agroexport federal center reported.
"Russia exported dairy products worth over $245 mln from January to May 2026. Exports increased by 19% compared to the same period last year. In volume terms, shipments rose by 14% to over 104,000 tons," the report said.
Cheese and cottage cheese accounted for over 28% of export revenue, followed by fermented milk products (23%), ice cream (15%), milk and cream (10%), milk powder (8%), and dry whey (8%), according to the report. All key dairy categories showed positive growth trends in early 2026. Specifically, shipments of cheese and cottage cheese from Russia added 6% to $70 mln in January-May, supplies of fermented milk products grew by 12% to $55 mln, ice cream deliveries went up by 21% to $38 mln, liquid milk and cream supplies gained 27% to $24 mln, while shipments of milk powder and whey climbed by 54% to $20 mln and by 50% to $20 mln, respectively.
As last year, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Uzbekistan were the leading buyers of Russian dairy products in the first half of this year, according to the report. In particular, shipments to Kazakhstan rose by 0.3% between January and May to $92 mln. Consequently, the country accounted for more than one-third of all Russian dairy exports.
Deliveries to Belarus increased by 25% year-on-year to over $40 mln in the reporting period. The key products driving the trend were ice cream (up 49%), fermented milk products (up 42%), and whey (up 36%). Meanwhile shipments to Uzbekistan grew by 58% to $27 mln. Specifically, exports of ice cream and milk powder more than doubled, while whey shipments increased 1.8-fold.
In total, Russia supplied dairy products to more than 65 countries in the period. Exports grew 1.9-fold year-on-year to the UAE, twofold to Egypt, 2.3-fold to Algeria, and tenfold to Tunisia.