Kommersant learned about the difficulties for the production of yogurt due to sanctions

The risk of a shortage of modified corn starches, which are used as thickeners, threatens to reduce the production of desserts and yogurts, informed “Kommersant” with reference to a source among producers of dairy products.

According to the source of the newspaper, the aforementioned ingredients were mainly imported from Western countries, but in 2022 supplies stopped due to sanctions against Russia. The interlocutor explained that in Russia there is not enough modified corn starch produced and it is difficult to find a replacement in other countries.

At the same time, another Kommersant source in the industry noted that the problem is more acute for certain categories, and for many products it is possible to find alternative ingredients. Another interlocutor of the newspaper said that instead of modified corn starches, milk powder can be used as a thickener. However, according to him, this will lead to an increase in the cost of producing yogurts.

In 2021, about 71,000 tons of food modified starches were imported to Russia, and about 9,000 tons were produced, said Oleg Radin, president of the Association of Deep Grain Processing Enterprises (Soyuzkrakhmal). According to him, now these ingredients are produced in the country by two plants with a total capacity of about 50,000 tons per year, however, due to the shortage of raw materials, it is difficult to fully load the sites.

According to Kommersant, Viola started looking for other suppliers at the beginning of last spring. The company said it had switched to local corn starch and approved several manufacturers from Asian countries. Efko said that the Food of the Future division has found an alternative and is producing thick plant-based yoghurts as usual.

According to data from the National Union of Dairy Producers and Milknews, yogurt production decreased by 16% between January and September 2022. The interlocutor of Kommersant in the dairy market explained that in order to remove the risks of a shortage of food starches, it is necessary to simplify the issuance of import permits for the import of seeds. In his opinion, this step will allow increasing the production of corn of the required varieties.