Butter, Russia: Food giant seeks to fill supply gap as dairy industry faces ‘catastrophic’ shortage

Moscow ramps up domestic output to reduce reliance on Ukraine and EU

Moscow is ramping up domestic production of butter in a bid to reduce reliance on Ukraine and the EU amid a "catastrophic" shortage of the dairy product. Food giant Unilever has warned that sanctions and supply chain disruptions have created a supply gap that the company is seeking to fill with butter from other countries.

Russia's dairy industry faces 'catastrophic' shortage

The shortage of butter in Russia is due to a number of factors, including the sanctions imposed on the country following its annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. These sanctions have made it difficult for Russia to import dairy products from the EU and Ukraine, which were previously major suppliers.

In addition, the Russian dairy industry has been hit by a number of other problems in recent years, including a decline in milk production and an increase in the cost of feed. This has made it difficult for Russian dairy farmers to produce enough butter to meet demand.

Unilever seeks to fill supply gap

Unilever is one of the world's largest food companies, and it has a significant presence in Russia. The company has said that it is seeking to fill the supply gap created by the shortage of butter in Russia by importing butter from other countries.

Unilever has not said which countries it is importing butter from, but it is likely that the company will be looking to source butter from countries that are not subject to sanctions, such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Argentina.

Russia ramps up domestic production

In addition to importing butter from other countries, the Russian government is also taking steps to increase domestic production. The government has provided financial support to dairy farmers and has introduced new regulations to encourage the production of butter.

The Russian government has also said that it is considering imposing tariffs on imported butter in order to protect domestic producers. However, it is unclear whether this measure will be effective in increasing domestic production.