By the end of this year, raw milk production in Ukraine will total roughly 7.5 mln t, which is 13.9% less than last year, of which 4.9 mln t will be produced by households (-15% by 2021), and 2.6 mln t (-5%) – by specialized enterprises.
Total supply of milk and dairy products in 2022 will be 7.9 million tons, said deputy director of livestock and breeding department of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Elena Dadus in her column on the website of the industry analytical agency “Infagro”.
According to her predictions, this year the export of milk and dairy products from Ukraine will amount to 510 thousand tons, and import – 415 thousand tons.
In addition, according to State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, consumer price index of milk in January-November 2022 increased by 18.4% as compared to the same period of 2021.
It is specified that the vast majority of milk is produced in regions where there are no military operations – 94.7%. At the same time, during the year its production increased in some regions – Rivne, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi and Cherkasy. This shows that there is a demand for dairy products, and that the vacuum created by the destruction of enterprises in the South and East of Ukraine is being filled by enterprises from safer parts of the country.
“This year, 2022, has been a challenge and a test for the dairy industry. The important thing is that finally everyone has found and filled their niche, competing and along with it not destroying the opponent. When supply chains were destroyed, both raw materials and products, small local trading networks came to the rescue, and small and medium enterprises for primary processing of products began to appear rapidly, and, thus, the supply of products to local local markets was provided”, – specified the representative of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy in her column.
Subsequently, when export routes were established and new European markets opened for Ukraine, there was a reorientation of individual enterprises to European markets, and due to the favorable global environment there was an opportunity to export Ukrainian products at a more attractive price.
“The main task is to keep the balance between the margins of business and meeting the needs of the population, because the market capacity is often conditioned by the purchasing power of consumers of products,” Dadus stated the results of the year for the industry.
As reported with reference to the data of the Association of Milk Producers (AMP), milk production in Ukraine for 10 months of 2022 decreased by 12.4% – to 6.56 million tons at the background of the reduction of livestock and productivity of cows in the frontline zones and areas with active fighting.
At the same time, the supply of basic fat milk for processing in Ukraine decreased by 13.5% to 1.99 million tonnes. In addition, the role of the industrial sector in food processing continues to strengthen: 1.7 million tons, or 85.7% of raw milk received for processing from dairy farms, while the share of “homemade” milk fell to 14.6%.
Proceeds from exports of dairy products from Ukraine in September reached a record high since the beginning of the year – $35.9 million, which is 9.2% more than in August 2022, and 2.45 times more than in September 2021.
