Russian dairy exports rise 14% as Armenia enters top three skim milk powder buyers
Russia exported 104,000 tonnes of dairy products worth $245 million in January-May 2026, with volume rising 14% and value increasing 19% year on year. Armenia ranked among the three largest buyers of Russian skim milk powder, while Kazakhstan, Belarus and Uzbekistan remained the main dairy markets overall.
Export value reaches $245 million
Russian dairy exports reached 104,000 tonnes in January-May 2026, an increase of 14% from the same period a year earlier, according to figures from the federal Agroexport center cited by Kommersant. Export value rose faster than volume, gaining 19% to $245 million.
Cheese and curd generated 28% of dairy export revenue, the largest share among the reported categories. Fermented dairy products accounted for 23%, ice cream for 15%, and milk and cream for 10%. Milk powder and dried whey each contributed 8%.
The latest increase follows a mixed performance in 2025. Soyuzmoloko, Russia’s National Union of Milk Producers, recorded a 5% decline in exports that year to 1 million tonnes in milk equivalent. Revenue nevertheless increased from $521 million to $599 million, indicating that export earnings rose despite lower equivalent volumes.
Powders lead growth as Armenia expands purchases
Milk powder recorded the strongest growth among Russia’s main dairy export categories in January-May, rising 54% year on year, Agroexport estimated. Whey shipments increased 50%. Soyuzmoloko chief executive Artem Belov told Kommersant that high global prices had improved the export appeal of skim milk powder and whey, which were reaching markets in Asia and Africa.
Armenia entered the three largest importers of Russian skim milk powder, News.am reported. Russian exports of the product exceeded 6,000 tonnes worth more than $15 million in the first five months of 2026, excluding May data for the Eurasian Economic Union. The available figures do not specify Armenia’s individual volume within that total.
Russia’s dairy trade remains concentrated in neighboring markets. Kazakhstan, Belarus and Uzbekistan together generated 64.9% of export value in January-May. Suppliers also expanded farther afield: shipments to Egypt doubled from a year earlier, while exports to Tunisia increased tenfold.
Foreign sales help absorb domestic supply
Exports remain small relative to Russian production. Rosstat reported that 8.95 million tonnes of milk were processed into food products in January-May 2026, while cheese output reached 359,400 tonnes. Russia’s self-sufficiency in raw milk stands at 85%, according to Andrey Kucherov of Reksoft Consulting, and Belarusian supplies help cover the remaining requirements of the domestic market.
Weak domestic demand and the previous decline in exports contributed to record inventories of cheese and dry dairy ingredients, Kucherov said. Producers therefore view foreign sales as a channel for clearing finished-product surpluses, particularly dairy proteins. International demand for dairy fats, by contrast, remains limited.
Asia, the Middle East and Africa offer longer-term demand potential, but logistics constrain growth because many dairy products have short shelf lives and require fast, costly delivery. Soyuzmoloko expects Russian dairy exports to rise by 8–15% in milk equivalent over the whole of 2026. A high comparison base, exchange-rate movements and geopolitical tension in Gulf countries could slow growth during the second half.
