The market economy is developing cyclically. Periodically, crises arise in it. During the crisis, GDP decreases, unemployment increases, incomes of the population decrease, etc. The consequences of crises for different areas of economic activity are different. The purpose of the article is to study the impact of economic crises on the agro-industrial complex and national food market. The object of study is the Russian cheese market. The article analyses the impact of the crises of 1998, 2008, 2014 and 2020 in Russia on the national agribusiness and cheese market. The authors analysed the economic indicators of production and sale of cheese, revealed the structural and dynamic features of this market. According to the results of the study, causal relationships were found for changes in the Russian cheese market under the influence of economic crises. These results can be used to improve the public policy of regulating the national economy, ensuring food security, stimulation of agro-industrial complex and regulating the Russian cheesemarket. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2020.