Danone Sends 5,000 Cows to Siberia in Quest for Cheaper Milk
- Russian dairy prices have surged on food import ban, ruble
- Cheesemakers are making more in Russia to replace EU imports
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President Vladimir Putin’s ban on European Union cheese imports has driven up milk prices in Russia by so much that French yogurt maker Danone is transporting almost 5,000 cows to a farm in Siberia to ensure it has an affordable supply.
The Holstein cows are traveling as many as 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) in trucks from the Netherlands and Germany, boosting the herd on a farm near the city of Tyumen, according to Charlie Cappetti, head of Danone’s Russian unit. That should protect the company from the increase in raw milk prices, which are up 14 percent this year, he said.