Regional Imbalances in Dairy Product Availability: Price-Forming Factors

The authors used machine learning models to analyze the regional differences in the availability of milk and dairy products. The regional imbalances appeared to be closely related to the level of income and the volume of ready-to-drink milk production in the region. These factors especially affected top-of-the-range products. Other factors included the size of the urban population, the level of milk consumption, and the milk yield per cow. The number of dairy farms, the volume of raw milk production, the size of the rural population, and the number of cows had little or no effect on the regional price policy. The results obtained may help retail trade entities, e.g., chain stores, to develop their price policy. In addition, they may assist the government in determining the areas of support for agricultural producers in order to make dairy products more available in certain regions.