Milk consumption in Russia by year
253 kg, 2024 +6 to 2023
Rosstat aggregates the entire dairy group—milk, kefir, cottage cheese, cheese, and butter—into this indicator, expressed in milk equivalents. Consumption peaked during the late Soviet period at nearly 400 kg per person; levels have not returned to those values since the 1990s.
Chart series with 1990 years. Full values, including earlier ones, are in the table below
Conversion to milk equivalents means that one kilogram of cheese or a pack of butter is counted as the amount of milk used to produce them.
The Ministry of Health's recommended norm is approximately 325 kg per year; actual consumption has been below this level for three decades.
Table by year
| Period | kg | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 387 | |
| 1991 | 347 | −40 |
| 1992 | 282 | −65 |
| 1993 | 294 | +12 |
| 1994 | 281 | −13 |
| 1995 | 254 | −27 |
| 1996 | 233 | −21 |
| 1997 | 230 | −3 |
| 1998 | 220 | −10 |
| 1999 | 214 | −6 |
| 2000 | 215 | +1 |
| 2001 | 219 | +4 |
| 2002 | 227 | +8 |
| 2003 | 231 | +4 |
| 2004 | 232 | +1 |
| 2005 | 234 | +2 |
| 2006 | 237 | +3 |
| 2007 | 240 | +3 |
| 2008 | 241 | +1 |
| 2009 | 243 | +2 |
| 2010 | 245 | +2 |
| 2011 | 243 | −2 |
| 2012 | 245 | +2 |
| 2013 | 244 | −1 |
| 2014 | 239 | −5 |
| 2015 | 232 | −7 |
| 2016 | 230 | −2 |
| 2017 | 228 | −2 |
| 2018 | 227 | −1 |
| 2019 | 232 | +5 |
| 2020 | 238 | +6 |
| 2021 | 239 | +1 |
| 2022 | 241 | +2 |
| 2023 | 247 | +6 |
| 2024 | 253 | +6 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much milk does a Russian consume per year?
The last row of the table shows kilograms of milk and dairy products per capita per year in milk equivalents. This is approximately a quarter less than the Ministry of Health's norm.
Why did milk consumption fall after the USSR?
During the Soviet era, dairy products were inexpensive and subsidized. After 1991, prices rose, cattle numbers decreased, and consumption fell by one-third from its peak level.
What is included in dairy products?
Milk, kefir, ryazhenka, cottage cheese, sour cream, cheese, butter, ice cream—everything made from milk, expressed as the weight of the original milk.