The Ukrainian dairy industry has entered its deepest crisis in recent years due to purchase prices falling below cost, creating the risk of a 20% loss in industrial milk production by the end of 2026, said Olena Zhupinas, deputy director general of the Association of Milk Producers (AMP), at a round table of the parliamentary committee on agricultural and land policy.
According to the association’s data, in 2025-early 2026, purchase prices for raw milk fell by 23% and in February averaged 13.5 UAH/kg (excluding VAT), while direct operating costs exceeded 16 UAH/kg. Even highly efficient industrial farms with 1,000-1,200 cows have been accumulating more than UAH 1 million in losses every month for the fourth month in a row.
“The dairy industry is entering its deepest crisis in recent years. Without prompt decisions in 2026, we risk losing part of our production capacity, which will be extremely difficult to restore after the war. For producers, the decision on support before the start of the sowing season is a choice: to sow feed and keep the herd or to curtail production,” the AVM press service quoted Jupinas as saying.
To stabilize the situation, the AVM proposes introducing a special subsidy of UAH 8,000 per cow for industrial farms with 50 or more head of cattle. The potential volume of this program is estimated at EUR 62 million. Without such assistance, by the end of 2026, the country could lose 500-600 thousand tons of milk, which is almost 20% of industrial production.
The second initiative is to create fair market conditions by regulating unfair trade practices by chains. Today, the financial risks of retail are shifted to producers and processors, which directly affects the purchase price. Without legislative changes, it is impossible to stabilize the “farm-processing-trade” chain.
The association also emphasizes the need to stimulate demand through public procurement, which should focus on domestic producers. In particular, the launch of the “School Milk” program for 4.4 million schoolchildren will ensure guaranteed sales of 195,000 tons of milk per year, which is about 5% of the processing volume.
“The position of the UMA is not a request for preferences, but a response to the scale of the challenges. 2026 will be a turning point: either decisions will be made now, or the losses that can still be avoided today will cost the state much more tomorrow,” the industry association concluded.
