Russian dairy plants are on the verge of bankruptcy

Russian dairy plants are on the verge of bankruptcy

Russian dairy plants are on the verge of bankruptcy
The federal ministries have prepared information on the economic state of the dairy industry.  The task related to the analysis of milk production and processing in the country was carried out on behalf of the Government.  As a result, experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Development made a conclusion that without state support, the industry might face financial instability, which would threaten many industrial complexes with bankruptcy.

Interfax cites its own sources in one of the ministries by reporting a letter with the results of the report.  According to the data received, milk processing plants expect a reduction in supplies associated with an increase in the cost of the feed base and a subsequent drop in milk production.

It is noted that feed and other components that form the cost of dairy products have recently been constantly growing in price.  In December 2021, feed wheat was sold at a price by 24.7% more than in 2020.  The price of premixes increased the most (64.3%).
The share of feed is about 55% of the total cost of raw milk.
Its share, in turn, is about 74% of the total cost of products obtained in the process of processing.  Obviously, in such a situation, the cost increases, and profitability decreases.  In the agricultural sector, milk production now costs 11% more, and in the processing sector, the cost increased by 17.2%.  At the same time, profitability decreased to 11.9% and 5.1% - by 0.8 and 2.8 points, respectively.

According to the experts who worked on departmental analytics, it is still possible to stabilize the state of affairs in the industry if stimulating and compensatory subsidies from the state are allocated to support it.
Experts propose to introduce programs for issuing preferential loans, subsidizing production when purchasing feed.
Interfax recalls that the analytical report was prepared by the representatives of Russian departments even before the key rate was more than doubled by the regulator.  Until February 28, it was 9.5%, and now it is set at 20%.  The authorities are going to allocate about 10 billion rubles for the purchase of feed, but how much this will help to save enterprises from bankruptcy is an open question.

15.03.2022