Lactose Free Cheese to Bring the Price for Raw Milk down in Russia
Prohibited European cheese is gradually coming back to the Russian store shelves, but now it has a code: «lactose free». The procedure of this kind of products supply is difficult, but volumes of import are increasing.
The ban on lactose free products was abolished because Russia does not produce this kind of products itself. The measure became a «hole» for European cheese producers as far as the majority of cheeses do not contain lactose by definition.
In the majority of cases lactose remains in the whey when chees is produced. This is a well-known fact for a professional. Consequently all cheeses should be permitted for export to Russia. Russian officials are unlikely to think this way, assumed Maksim Polyakov, Foodland Director General.
According to Russian retailers, supplies from countries under embargo are still not large. Vladimir Rusanov from X5 Retail Group gives several reasons for this: customs clearance process, long procedure of documenting and high price (3-5 higher compared to Russian cheeses).
Import of lactose free products is not prohibited; each case is considered individually as far as there are no universal requirements, says assistant to the head of Rosselkhoznadzor Aleksey Alekseyenko.
Some market participants do not believe this mechanism to be usable. Yekaterina Karpunina, REMMA CEO, doubts that anybody uses this possibility to export to Russia because the process of supplier accreditation is too difficult and includes tests by Rosselkhoznadzor. The produce is checked by the authority once again when it comes to Russia to make sure it doesn’t contain lactose.
Andrey Golubkov from a retail-store Azbuka Vkusa on the contrary confirms that lactose free cheese replaced European cheeses, which were imported before the embargo. Volumes of lactose free cheese supplies to the store mostly coincide with those which the retailer got before the embargo.
Lactose free cheese supplies are already impacting Russian dairy market, especially cheese sector. From 7 to 13 April rennet cheese consumer price dropped 0.5%. After demand and domestic cheese price decrease the raw milk price may also drop, summarizes The DairyNews.