Russia's butter struggle: Thefts rise amid import shortages

For years, Russia was at the forefront of the world's largest food import markets, particularly leading in butter and cheese imports.

Until 2022, butter was imported into Russia from all over the world. However, since the invasion of Ukraine, the situation has changed.

In 2022, Russia ranked 19th in the world for butter imports. Over the past two years, imports have dropped tenfold—from 44,000 to 4,400 tonnes.

After Putin attacked Ukraine, Belarus remained as the only butter supplier to the Russian market. However, it is unable to fully meet the demand, even though its products account for 15 percent of all Russian dairy products.

Minsk has also noticed the crisis and has decided to profit from it. The local Ministry of Agriculture raised prices for some goods sold in foreign trade contracts with Russia multiple times within a year.

As a result, Russia sought alternatives; it began buying butter from "friendly countries." According to their media, these include India and Iran. Kyrgyzstan is also a trade partner in the dairy industry, increasing butter exports to Russia by 34 percent in the last nine months.

Nevertheless, butter remains scarce, and prices have recently risen by 20 percent. This has led to increasing incidents of theft.

Due to the rising number of thefts, stores have implemented precautionary measures by securing butter blocks in special containers.

The containers are also "chipped," so removing a product from the store triggers an alarm.

"In a photo from a Russian store, we see butter in special containers with security chips," writes Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the President of Ukraine.

There is also a note on the refrigerator. "Dear customers, if you want to purchase butter, please contact a store employee," it reads.

Source: X/AKI Press/OEC World/NZ Herald/WP