Russia cheese market

Russia is the third largest cheese market of the 48 in the database and the second largest in Europe and Eurasia. Zenith puts consumption at more than 1.8 million tonnes in 2025, including cheese, cheese products and tvorog, or around 12 kg per person.

Zenith expects consumption to grow by close to 2% a year to 2030, passing 2 million tonnes.

Russia is a production-led market supplied mainly by its own industry. Imports cover less than a fifth of consumption, and the great majority of them come from Belarus. Fresh cheese and tvorog are the largest category, followed by Russian-style semi-hard cheeses and processed cheese.

The Zenith Global Cheese Database 2026 covers Russia with production, imports, exports and consumption for 39 cheese types, actuals from 2020 to 2025 and forecasts to 2030. Volume data covers totals, broad categories and separately measured cheese types, in tonnes. Consumer retail value covers total cheese only, in local currency and USD; import and export trade values cover HS 0406 total only, in USD. Monetary values are not broken down by individual cheese type or broad category. Retail shelf prices cover total cheese and five broad categories: hard and semi-hard, fresh, mould, processed, and other non-specified cheese, in local currency/kg and USD/kg, not individual prices for all 39 cheese types. Import and export unit prices cover HS 0406 total and available HS subheadings, in USD/kg. Retail value is estimated retail volume multiplied by regular shelf prices, including sales tax. Trade values are customs values, using CIF for imports and FOB for exports. Production is measured as formally manufactured cheese.