Retrospective Analysis of Butter Production in Post-Soviet Countries

Butter has been a staple food product throughout human history. Its long-term production analysis reveals structural changes in consumption, production capabilities, and demand on the domestic market. This article offers a retrospective analysis of time series of butter production in Russia and the former USSR in 1928-2022. While some sources go back to 1928, complete comparative data on all Soviet republics could be obtained only for 1933. Before World War II, the main capacities of butter production were located in Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic republics. After World War II, they shifted to Kazakhstan with its virgin land development and mass migration from European Russia. Currently, Russia, Belarus and Uzbekistan are the centers of butter production. Ukraine and the Baltic Statesseem to be losing in both absolute and relative figures. The tectonic changes in the structure and distribution of butter production across the post-Soviet space help to assess the near-term prospects for national butter industry and mutual trade with former Soviet republics.