The General Director of Azbuka Syra LLC answered questions within the framework of the Dairy Planning project. The Dairy Planer is a podcast in which Milknews editor-in-chief Maria Zhebit and Streda Consulting head Alexey Gruzdev discuss the main events and trends in the dairy industry with leading market players.

Below is the text version of the answers to some of the questions, you can listen to the interview at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aboy2J8602w

1. Last year, Azbuka Syra LLC significantly expanded its capacity, processed 129 thousand tons of milk and produced more than 12 thousand tons of cheeses. How does the company end this year? Were the new lines uploaded successfully?

Answer:

This year we are, so to speak, working at cruising speed. Both buildings are working non-stop, the average annual load of equipment is 85%. Full loading does not occur because in parallel with product development, we carry out work on updating and refining various nodes of production lines.

According to the results of 9 months of the current year, the volume of production of finished products +25% (2022/2021 +11%). On average, we process 435 tons of milk per day. The forecast by the end of the year is more than 24 thousand tons of finished products

2. How does the cheese market feel this year, which categories were most in demand? What novelties did Azbuka Syra LLC please consumers with and how did it manage to balance profitability during the year against the background of rising costs, raw material prices and promotions in retail chains?

Answer:

Consolidated data indicate an increase in consumption by 2.5 – 3%. Yes, the cost of cheese has increased and for some time there has been a demand for cheap cheeses. But we know very well that modern consumers primarily need delicious and high-quality cheese. Therefore, our course towards meeting these requirements does not change, regardless of any external factors. This year, we have completed the production of Maasdam cheese in the euro-timber format and for the first time started the production of Parmesan. In addition, we have another new product, which we have already presented to buyers of retail chains, and received good reviews. Until I tell you what kind of product it is, I will create a little intrigue.

3. You are an active fighter against counterfeiting in the cheese market, this year the fat balance control mechanism in Mercury has started working, the sensational dispute between the YUKMP (Yugovskaya Combine of Dairy Products LLC) and the tax service has reached the finish line - how do you assess the impact of these factors on the market?

Answer: Yes, there is Mercury, everything is clear with it. But in my opinion, there is a much simpler and faster way to control the use of a milk fat substitute by manufacturers. There are about 10-15 companies in Russia engaged in the import and further resale of palm oil. It is much easier to keep track of who is being sold by these companies than to control about 5,000 milk processors.

Regarding the YUKMP: our company is not a participant in this process, so I do not know the true picture of what is happening, and it is not our style to comment on rumors.