11th Congress of the National Association of Milk Producers
13 February 2020 News from the Company
Development of export potential, reduction of administrative barriers, consolidation of the sector to promote genuine dairy products – all these topics were discussed at the 11th Congress of the National Association of Milk Producers, which was held in Moscow in the framework of AGROS Expo.
More than 300 representatives from the dairy industry, relevant organisations, ministries and regional authorities of the agricultural industry met on 29 January 2020 to look back on the work of the association over the past year and to formulate the most important goals and tasks for the near future. The congress was opened by Stefan Dürr, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Milk Producers.
"To address a number of current issues, we simply need to consolidate our industry now. Our association is getting stronger and stronger, but this year we want to expand our work with regional associations even further and establish new associations in at least 30 other regions of the country. Without doubt, one of our main tasks today is to work together to promote genuine dairy products that are useful and indispensable for everyday nutrition," said Stefan Dürr.
During the congress, it was noted that dairy farmers have succeeded in achieving high milk production rates in the past year, as well as significantly increasing the number of animals and their productivity.
Dschambulat Chatuow, first deputy minister of agriculture: "This is the result of effective government support measures. Last year's figures are encouraging. In 2019, milk production rose by 2.5% to almost 31.5 million tons".
The Ministry of Agriculture actively supports the dairy industry and will continue to do so in the future. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut at the meeting of milk producers.
"The dairy industry is the most popular sector in the agricultural sector among farmers and has an important value for the ministry. As part of the economic support package for 2020, priority has been given to milk production in 66 regions of the country. One of the main tasks is currently the export. Last year, milk exports amounted to 280 million dollars. The plan for 2020 includes 800 million dollars. It's a great challenge, but we must work hard to meet it," says Oksana Lut.
During the discussion round, representatives of the association appealed to the leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture to support dairy farmers in the question of refusing to introduce mandatory labelling for dairy products. In their opinion, this would duplicate the functions of the "Mercury" system, a state automated data system for certification and control of animal products in Russia. In addition, the issue of the possible introduction of subsidies for digitalization and the purchase of modern software products for agricultural enterprises and the purchase of imported livestock was also raised.
Summing up the results of the 11th Congress of the National Association of Dairy Producers, the participants agreed that it is necessary to direct their actions in one direction and to further consolidate the industry in order to meet the main challenges of the modern dairy market.
By Tatiana Ignatenko