In 2024, Milk Alliance Group, one of the leaders in dairy processing in Ukraine, supplied its products to 27 countries, although in the pre-war period the export geography included 38 countries, said Serhiy Vovchenko, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Group.
“Last year, we exported products worth only about UAH 1 billion. This is not enough. At the same time, we received about UAH 8.6 billion in revenue,” he said at the Business Wisdom Summit 2025 on Friday.
Mr. Vovchenko noted that to be competitive, a food processing company needs to keep a close eye on three things: innovation, quality, and price.
Speaking about Milk Alliance, he expressed confidence that its products have no problems with innovation and quality. However, its cost is currently higher than in many European countries where producers receive subsidies from the European budget. This makes Ukrainian dairy products uncompetitive in the international arena.
“The cost of raw materials in our dairy industry accounts for 68-70% (of the total cost – IF-U). The state, business, and associations need to work to ensure that we are competitive in the third component, the price. Then we will be known, much more widely and in demand, and the currency will come to the state. After all, what is a billion hryvnias? It’s nothing at all. We used to sell much more, three times more for export. And now, unfortunately, we are at a standstill,” emphasized the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Milk Alliance Group.
Mr. Vovchenko also said that after a series of trips to international congresses, he became convinced of the non-competitiveness of Ukrainian dairy products in the European market and the biased attitude of European colleagues towards Ukrainian producers. In his opinion, state protectionism can solve this problem.
“The duty-free trade agreement will expire on June 5. This is a very serious challenge for us. If it is not extended, we will lose. If a duty is added, we will not be competitive in the European market at all,” he said, adding that the way out is to increase exports to the Middle East and North Africa.
Milk Alliance Group is a leader in the Ukrainian dairy industry with five powerful dairy processing plants: Yagotynsky Butter Plant, Yagotynske for Children baby food plant, Pyriatyn Cheese Plant, Zolotonosha Butter Processing Plant and Bashtanka Cheese Plant.
The company specializes in the production of milk, fermented milk products, butter, cheese and dried dairy products, which it sells under the brands Yagotynske, Yagotynske for Children, Pyriatyn, Slavia, Zlatokrai, and Milk Alliance.
According to the company’s website, in 2024, the Group’s enterprises harvested 284.22 thousand tons of milk, produced 16.21 thousand tons of cheese, 3.671 thousand tons of butter, 48.6 thousand tons of milk, 53.94 thousand tons of fermented milk products, and 11.89 thousand tons of baby food.
