Cheese days started in the Russian capital on September 30, 2016, has given the opportunity to farmers to sell their products to Muscovites; for Moscow residents it offered many kinds of farmer cheese. We say that Cheese days came to us because the same practice is widespread in Europe, particularly in France (Fête du Fromage).
The event was organized by the Ministry of agriculture of Russia jointly with the Moscow Government, who assumed the costs. The farmers became the driver and mastermind of the event, particularly the role of Oleg Sirota, the owner of Istra cheese “Russian cheese” is remarkable there.
The Director of the Department for food and processing at Ministry of agriculture Evgeny Akhpashev noted the good characteristics of the industry: “the Cheese today is a leader of the dairy market in the growth of production volumes. The growth of domestic production increased by 35.6% from 428.6 thousand tons in 2013 to 581.3 thousand tonnes in 2015. We look forward to further positive dynamics in this direction. Wide assortment, presented at the festival, shows us the development of the industry. Today the share of imports is 23.5%, which shows the presence of capacity needs to implement by increasing the production of traditional cheeses, and through the development of new products.”
In an interview to cultural and political magazine “E Vesti” Oleg Sirota summed up the event as follows: “the Last cheese days is a definite success, which revealed the great potential of cheesemaking. We’ve got a powerful impetus to the development of farms and small dairies throughout Russia. We honestly did not expect such a strong support of Muscovites. We found out that behind our backs there are people who we really need our products, it is in demand and we will undertake the work with new forces. “
The most popular assortment of cheese, according to Sirota, “is yet a deficit position with hard cheeses, analogue cheese and other hard cheese which are the most difficult positions for our cheese-makers. The exhibition became a very big debut of the cheeses produced in Russia, the Russian Gorgonzola, Roquefort made from sheep’s milk”.
We asked Oleg about whether the farmers need any cheese promotion in other regions of the country and for export, he explained that the greatest demand in the cheese there is in Moscow, and it is too early to talk about exports, because there is a huge not yet saturated domestic market.
In front of the cheese makers there is a lot of work, and Cheese days, which opened new horizons and opportunities for marketing, are designed to create an additional incentive for the development of a promising area.
Source: Oleg Sirota journal, Russian Ministry of agriculture
