Russia’s Dairy Imports Rise 9.94% as Ice Cream Shipments Jump 26.72%
Russia imported 406 million liters of dairy products in January–June 2026, up 9.94% year on year. Belarus drove much of the increase, while ice cream imports rose 26.72% as Russian production declined.
Imports grow faster than domestic output
Russia imported 406 million liters of dairy products in January–June 2026, an increase of 9.94% from the same period a year earlier, according to calculations by the Center for Research in Perspective Technologies, or CRPT, which operates the Chestny Znak national labeling system. Domestic production also increased, but more slowly: Russian plants produced about 5.86 billion liters, up 2.26% year on year.
The combined supply of dairy products on the Russian market rose 3% to 6.2 billion liters during the first half of 2026. CRPT told Kommersant that imports continued to represent no more than 6–6.5% of total supply. The figures indicate that foreign products remain a relatively small part of the overall market, even though their growth rate exceeded that of Russian production.
Belarus strengthens its position
The composition of imports became more concentrated within the Eurasian Economic Union. Its members supplied 96.7% of Russia’s dairy imports, compared with 94% a year earlier. Belarus made the largest contribution to the increase, while shipments from other countries declined, according to Artem Belov, general director of the National Union of Milk Producers, known as Soyuzmoloko.
Belov said administrative mechanisms in Belarus support lower purchase prices for raw milk and consequently reduce the price of finished dairy products. Russian producers, meanwhile, face rising production costs and a heavier credit burden. Logika Moloka, which combines the former Danone assets in Russia, said domestic manufacturers were feeling competition from Belarusian products. Retailers offered a different assessment: Stanislav Bogdanov, chairman of the Association of Retail Trade Companies, said imports supplement domestic supply and broaden consumer choice.
More than 90% of the dairy assortment in major Russian retail chains consists of locally produced goods, according to the retailers’ association. Belarusian products, including cheese, have maintained a share of about 7% of the dairy assortment for several years. Smaller volumes arrive from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries. Belov said balancing mutual shipments of cheese, butter, cottage cheese and drinking milk remains an important issue in dairy cooperation between Russia and Belarus.
Ice cream records the sharpest increase
Ice cream was the fastest-growing import category. CRPT data show that shipments increased 26.72% to 14.7 million kilograms in January–June, while the imported share of market supply rose from 3.7% to 4.7%. Russian ice cream production moved in the opposite direction, declining 1.72% to 296.27 million kilograms.
Belarus and Kazakhstan account for most ice cream deliveries to Russia, according to Belov, while imports from South Korea also increased from a smaller base. CRPT linked part of the growth to demand for flavors that are relatively new to Russian consumers, although traditional creamy plombir remains the leading variety. Belov attributed the decline in Russian output primarily to higher costs and weaker demand, including the effect of weather conditions early in the year. He added that more efficient inventory management also contributed to the reduction.
The first-half figures show two parallel trends for market participants. Russia’s overall dairy supply and domestic production are still expanding, but lower-priced Belarusian goods are gaining ground in selected categories. The contrast is clearest in ice cream, where rapidly rising imports coincided with lower Russian output, increasing competitive pressure on local manufacturers without fundamentally changing the market’s predominantly domestic structure.
