"Supplying the population with domestically produced milk and dairy products, and freeing the country from imports is a food security priority," Mr Zubkov said, opening the meeting.

Considerable financial resources are being allocated for these purposes from federal and regional budgets along with private investments.

In the past three years, 45 billion roubles has been allocated for pedigree livestock breeding (28 billion from the federal budget and 17 billion roubles from regional budgets). Outside loans during the same period totalled 220 billion roubles.

However, Mr Zubkov said, despite the massive injections the branch had little to show for them. "In the three years, milk production has risen only by 1.2 million tonnes, mostly thanks to individual households," he said.

In this context, the First Deputy Prime Minister pointed to the need to make more effective use of funds earmarked for increasing milk production and improving cooperation between milk producing and milk processing companies.

"They must agree on prices and volumes. Only in this way will we be able to end seasonal fluctuations in milk production and establish fair prices. Farms will become interested in producing more milk for processing. Producers and processors should be partners," Mr Zubkov said. Customs and tariffs, he said, would play a bigger role.

All these measures, in the view of the First Deputy Prime Minister, will "help create a civilised market of milk and dairy products in Russia."

These and other issues related to the development of dairy farming will be further discussed at an enlarged meeting in the Ryazan Region early in February. The meeting will be attended by regional leaders, heads of branch associations and milk producers and processors.