MILK production in Russia is estimated to have increased by 2.8% in 2007, reaching 32 million tonnes, reports the USDA. The Russian Minister of Agriculture, Aleksey Gordeyev, has expressed concern that domestic milk production is substantially lower than the 4.5% increase envisioned in Russia's National Priority Project (NPP) for agriculture. Russia currently has approximately 9.9 million milk cows. Less than 7% of these are the imported pedigrees needed for successful breeding. Imported European milk is relatively expensive, though of much higher quality; less than one-third of all raw milk produced in Russia meets the EU's high standards. The first six months of 2007 showed dairy imports had substantial increased. This is forecast to rise even higher in 2008 as the government attempts to combat escalating prices.
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