Danone’s cows in Siberia for cheaper milk

Bloomberg

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 4,500 kilometres 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.
“Milk prices have been going up steadily,” Cappetti said. “That puts products such as yogurt under pressure.”
While the French dairy company doesn’t normally invest in agriculture, it made an exception for Russia.