Milk producers and processors for the stability of the Russian dairy market

January 31, 2011- Moscow, Russia. The leading producer of healthy food and drinks Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods and the National Dairy Producers Union (SOUZMOLOKO) signed the cooperation agreement.

The cooperation agreement contributes to price stability, which is a very important factor for the effective development of Russian dairy market. The cooperation includes:

- setting up joint projects, with the aim to improve quality, quantity and efficiency of dairy industry as well as decrease the cost of production of milk and dairy products;
- building up conditions in order to improve competitiveness and export potential of Russian dairy products;
- establishment of the joint training and consulting programs;
- development of effective set of measures aimed at forming mutually beneficial relations with the Republic of Belarus;
- regular dairy market price monitoring and preparation of public reports;
- working on the concept of milk and dairy product pricing system;
- analyzing and identifying key Russian regions most suitable to be developed as raw material base for dairy production;
- implementation of the program aimed at stimulating milk and dairy product consumption in Russia.

Different working groups have been formed, each group to deal with specific task. At the moment group representatives are setting up working schedules and performance evaluation criteria.

Nowadays milk producers and processors realize that closer cooperation between all players of the market is extremely important for the stabilization and further development of the dairy market. Working together on the production efficiency and quality of the products, and learning quickly how to react to changes in demand is crucial. Production and processing depend on each other: production cannot exist separately from processing and vice versa. Therefore the efforts to achieve mutual goals should be consolidated. The signed agreement covers these aspects and acts as an example of how intra-industry cooperation should be organized.

SOUZMOLOKO chairman of the Board Andrei Danilenko:
«We understand that effectiveness of the dairy industry development, intra-industry profit balance, investment climate attractiveness, consumption volume and export potential of Russian dairy products depend on a great extent on the cooperation effectiveness between all participants involved in the production of the dairy products.
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods and SOUZMOLOKO have extensive mutual plans, with the aim to bring the dairy industry to the upper level. We are driven by the same ideas- we want to introduce to the market as many high-quality products as possible. Taking into consideration Russia’s prospects of joining the WTO, we believe that consolidation of the dairy industry will significantly strengthen Russia’s position in the global market».

Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods vice-president Silviu Popovici:
«Our company and SOUZMOLOKO have had a long and fruitful cooperation. We believe that Russia has huge agricultural potential; therefore strengthening its competitiveness, particularly in dairy farming, as well as exchanging experiences in the area is extremely important for milk producers and processors. SOUZMOLOKO – is a good example of modern organization working in the traditional sector and aimed at innovation in agriculture and same as Wimm-Bill-Dann focused on innovation in milk processing. Our close day to day cooperation can change the old approach used in dealing with agricultural problems in Russia and take the industry to the next level».