‘There is no such plant in Russia’: Kukmor promises to process all milk produced from 2026

Welcome, but we have our own mustache

“Who has not come to us: Serbs, Turks, and Chinese! But everyone is scared off by the long payback period of dairy production — up to 10 years. In the end, we came to the conclusion that we should create our own cooperative, we can handle it ourselves,” head of Kukmor Sergey Dmitriev explained why local investors took on the task of building the future empire, the Kukmor Dairy Plant, by uniting in a cooperative to journalists.

And it seems that relying on his own is his credo in managing the territory. Because not a single new project, be it a flagship milk processing, a hotel business, or housing construction, is launched without the participation of local resources. In a word, welcome to Kukmor, but we will not perish without external investors. “We are looking for investors all over the country, but [we rely] on our own,” the head admitted during an informal conversation with the press.

“Those who have not worn Kukmor felt boots, have not cooked on Kukmor dishes and have not tasted Kukmor milk, do not know Tatarstan,” Taliya Minullina opened the Municipal Hour meeting with the head of Kukmor District with these words.

The owner of the northern “milk valley” came for the first time with a presentation of investment opportunities, but the portfolio of projects turned out to be not very rich. They are ready to give over to private capital the restoration of historical and cultural heritage, the development of tourism infrastructure, housing construction, but one should not expect tectonic changes in the basic sectors of the economy. Its foundation is the manufacturer of aluminium tableware Kukmara, the oldest factory for the production of felt boots and clothes, dairy farming, as well as new production facilities for the production of granite stone (by the way, it is used in the decorative finishing of the Moscow metro and public spaces of Moscow).

According to the results of 2024, the VTP amounted to 28 billion rubles. At the same time, Sergey Dimitriyev was one of the few who clearly sees the prospects for economic development until 2030. By this time, the district's VTP should grow to 50 billion rubles, he said.

Kukmor revenue will grow to 50 billion rubles

And he gave a detailed breakdown of future growth. The largest increase in revenue of 20 billion should be provided by the future Kukmor Dairy Plant, he said. Another 7 billion will be brought in by new dairy farms with almost 8,000 head, which will be launched in 2026-2028. The same amount is expected from the basic enterprises of Kukmor District. Plus 3 billion rubles should be brought in by a new meat-packing plant, which is being built by an investor from Chuvashia. The enterprise is designed to process 3,000 head of cattle per year. “Plus, we expect an increase in revenue from the sale of Triera motorboats, from Belarusians by a billion rubles,” the head listed.

True, it turned out to be slightly more than the set bar of 50 billion rubles. “Of course, we would not like to wait until 2030, but to reach this level by 2028,” said Sergey Dimitriyev. On the other hand, in this plan there was no room to manoeuvre either left or right, as if new investors would not appear.

Not milk: investors decided to produce semi-finished products

The flagship investment project for processing 800 tonnes of raw milk has been promoted for two years, but only now has its final “configuration” been approved, said Dimitriyev. Kukmor Dairy Plant = was created by local milk producers, including PSK Niyaz Aitov, Vakhit Moloko, Molkom of Dilara Dautova and Voskhod. The entrepreneurs united in a cooperative, so the plant is commonly called “cooperative.” The entrepreneurs' investments in the plant will amount to 5 billion rubles, confirmed Sergey Dimitriyev.

The adjustment in the direction of the future plant is connected with the change in the situation on the dairy market. According to Dimitriyev, the Russian market is overflowing with cheeses, so investors decided to reorient themselves to the production of semi-finished products. Milk will be split into fats and proteins, and then shipped to other dairy enterprises. “There is no such plant in Russia. We also studied foreign enterprises,” he said.

This concept completes the design of the future dairy plant. According to the head of the district, is currently undergoing state examination, and construction is planned to begin in July of this year. They plan to put it into operation in the summer of next year.

With the opening of the plant, Kukmor will process the entire volume of local raw milk, the speaker said. Currently, villagers milk 570 tonnes of milk per day, this volume is completely exported outside the region. “We process only 20 tonnes,” Dimitriyev later clarified. At the same time, purchase prices have decreased by 15% in the last three months — to 39 rubles including VAT.

Not everyone likes the smell of manure

“Now we see that the number of cows in private farms is greatly reduced,” Dimitriyev noted with concern. — Whether we like it or not, but young people do not want to keep cows in their farmstead. And if we want to save the village, then the district should have industrial sites to move cattle there.

Kukmor authorities have found a way to save private livestock. Last year, five mini-dairy farms were launched here, where you can “deliver” your cows for fattening and milk production. “There is no better way: young cows do not need to prepare hay or fodder,” the head believes.

However, cow owners must unite in a cooperative and build a farm themselves, and the state will compensate 50% of the costs. “Compensation is 5 million rubles, plus a subsidy from the sale of milk — 2-3 rubles per litter of sale,” said Dmitriyev.

“We have updated the estimated cost of the farm from 3 to 5 million rubles,” said Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustem Gainullov. “One farm is designed to keep 24 cows, there is one milking parlour inside, and cow owners can pay rent. Not everyone will like the smell of manure.”

Nevertheless, Kukmor remains a leader in milk production and receives impressive subsidies in the range of a billion rubles.

For the first time in the region, 30 cottages were built for workers of agricultural enterprises — participants in the federal programme Integrated Development of Territories. The plans includes 220 houses. According to the terms of the programme, the houses must be in rural areas, and investors pay 36% of the costs, the rest — the republic, federal and local budgets. 42 houses passed the selection for the 26th year. “The networks will be laid at the expense of sponsors,” the head assured.

Perhaps this year, Kukmor investors will apply to the Investment Council of the Republic of Tatarstan for the construction of hotels along Mednaya Gora ski resort, said Sergey Dimitriyev. With the participation of an external co-investor, they are going to invest 300 million rubles in 3-4 star hotels. The tourist flow is currently 24,000 visitors per year, but there are not enough places at the ski resort.