National Dairy Producers Union (SOYUZMOLOKO) (Russian: Национальный союз производителей молока (СОЮЗМОЛОКО)) is a nonprofit organization based in Moscow, Russia. SOYUZMOLOKO unites milk producers and dairy processors as well as numerous service companies to represent their interests thus providing the dairy industry in Russia with economically favorable conditions.
Overview Russian milk producers and dairy processors founded National Dairy Producers Union (abbreviated as SOYUZMOLOKO) in March 2008. The nonprofit business association is based in Moscow and advocates policies to executive and legislative authorities at both state and local levels, foreign agencies, other business organizations, the news media, and the public. As noted on the organization's website “The goal of SOYUZMOLOKO is to foster a favorable environment for milk production and dairy procession that allows the increase in quality of dairy and the effectiveness of the industry”. The Union currently represents over 200 milk producers, dairy processors and service companies, which account for over 70% of milk and dairy products of Russia.
Activities SOYUZMOLOKO was founded to provide a forum for dairy producers and related sector companies to discuss the existing challenges, cooperate and participate in public policy discussions. Therefore, the Union organizes conferences, face-to-face seminars, and webinars, as well as large-scale conventions, that focus on dairy industry topics. To ensure the interests of its members, on a daily basis the Union collects and analyzes dairy market information as well as food safety requirements and regulatory practices, provides milk producers and dairy processors with advisory services. Moreover, according to the Federal act “On the development of agriculture” (#264, 2006.29.12), SOYUZMOLOKO participates in Russian agricultural policy formation.
Quality control National dairy producers union considers the production of safe and quality products as the primary means of increasing consumers’ confidence in the dairy. Therefore, the Union monitors the quality of products its members supply to distribution networks and facilitates the constant modernization of their plants. The nonprofit organization establishes and improves connections between milk producers, dairy processors and service companies, thus promoting the exchange of best practices and new technologies within the industry.
Dairy Promotion Program SOYUZMOLOKO considers dairy products one of the fundamental components of a balanced human diet. Due to the obvious decrease in the dairy consumption level in Russia, the Union has launched the “Three dairy products per day” non-profit social program. The federal-level initiative is aimed at stimulating milk consumption and is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation and the Institute of Nutrition.
Export promotion In May 2018, president Putin challenged the agricultural sector to increase the value of food exports to $45 billion by 2024, up from $26 billion in 2018. In line with the policy of the Russian Government, which supports national businesses in their participation in the foreign trade of agricultural products. SOYUZMOLOKO pays special attention to external economic activities of its members and assists them in their connections with foreign partners. Moreover, the organization monitors the opportunities abroad and identifies the existing challenges to dairy foreign trade operations to report on them to the national government.
Governance The first general meeting of the members of the National Dairy Producers Union took place on June 27, 2008. Alexey Gordeev, the then minister of agriculture of the Russian Federation, attended the event and expressed the view that "The National Dairy Producers Union should undertake a number of important functions, including the close liaising with executive legislation bodies in developing mechanisms of market regulation and price policy formation, attracting potential investors for the industry sector development, coordinating the launch of scientific and technical programs and innovations". Ayrat Khairullin, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Matters, was elected as the president, and Andrey Danilenko, the then president of the Russian Farms Group, was elected as the chairman of the board. Nowadays the organization is governed by the general board, which is a collegial body that exercises general management and reports to the General Meeting of Union members. Former advisor to the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Artyom Belov, who was appointed a general director of the Union in February 2018, runs the daily routine. The same 10th general meeting of the members of the National Dairy Producers Union has elected Stefan Dürr, chairman of the board of Ekosem-Agrar AG and president of the Ekoniva Group, its new chairman. He replaced Andrey Danilenko, who had held this position for more than ten years.
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