The Ministry of Agriculture wants to reduce the import of raw materials for dry infant formula from Europe, the USA and Ukraine

The Ministry of Agriculture proposes to reduce the volume of dry whey with a degree of demineralization of 90% (SDS-90%) allowed for import by 59.1% to 1500 tons. This follows from the draft order, which was posted on the portal of draft regulations on March 2, 2023. Such Whey is used for the preparation of powdered milk formulas and breast milk substitutes (BMS). It was delivered from Europe, the USA, from Ukraine, from Australia.

The import of whey for baby food from these countries was initially banned from 2014 as part of the counter-sanctions of the Russian Federation. From 2015 to 2020, 80-89% of raw materials were supplied from Belarus, the rest – from Argentina, Uruguay, Switzerland, according to Soyuzmolok. But in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the risks of a shortage for the production of dry mixes and BMS, it was allowed to import 3,000 tons of whey from countries that fell under counter-sanctions. The following year, a quota of 2000 tons was set, and in 2022 – 3661 tons.