The agro-industrial holding “Astarta” has modernized one of the largest livestock complexes in the Khmelnytskyi region by installing a state-of-the-art 40-head milking carousel, the company’s press service reported on Facebook.
“Dairy farming remains one of Astarta’s strategic areas of development… In the last 2.5 years alone, investments in the dairy segment have exceeded 1 billion hryvnia,” the press service quoted Viktor Ivanchik, CEO of the agribusiness holding, as saying.
According to the press service, investments are being made in farm modernization, technology, and production quality, resulting in market leadership in industrial milk production and 99% of milk being of extra-class quality.
According to the company, the complex is designed to house 2,000 head of cattle.
The modernization project involved upgrading production facilities with a focus on improving animal welfare, production efficiency, and the potential for further expansion.
The company noted that the modernization is part of the holding’s infrastructure program, which also includes the implementation of digital technologies in livestock farming, improving the energy efficiency of farms, and enhancing the genetics of the herd.
“Astarta” is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in seven regions of Ukraine and is the country’s largest sugar producer. The company’s portfolio includes five sugar refineries, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 214,000 hectares (including 129,000 hectares in Poltava Oblast, 42,000 hectares in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, and 16,000 hectares in Vinnytsia Oblast), and 26 dairy farms with 29,000 head of cattle across three regions. The holding company also operates a soybean processing plant and a bioenergy complex in Poltava Oblast, as well as a network of six grain elevators.
Astarta’s net profit for 2025 fell 4.2-fold to $19.94 million, while consolidated revenue decreased by 23% to $472 million.
Revenue from the livestock segment last year amounted to EUR56 million, and the average annual livestock headcount increased by 5% to 29,000.
Milk sales volumes rose by 6% year-over-year to 122,000 metric tons. At the same time, 99% of the raw milk was classified as extra-quality milk, compared to 97% in 2024.
The cow herd in Ukraine will continue to shrink and, as of January 1, 2028, could fall to 917,000 head, compared to an estimated 1.055 million head at the beginning of 2026, while milk production, after many years of decline, will stabilize at around 6.7 million metric tons per year, according to the study “The Dairy Industry of Ukraine in the Context of European Integration.”
Vadym Chagarovsky, Chairman of the Ukrainian Dairy Enterprises Association, noted during the study’s presentation at Agro Ukraine Week 2026 that despite the steady decline in the cow herd in Ukraine, productivity is rising and the volume of milk sent for processing is increasing.
According to the study, the total dairy cow herd across all farm categories decreased from 2.018 million head in 2018 to 1.055 million head in 2026, a decline of 48%.
The largest decline is occurring on private farms, where the herd size decreased by 55% between 2018 and 2026—to 660 thousand head—and may fall to 500 thousand head by 2028.
At the same time, following a prolonged decline, the herd size at agricultural enterprises is projected to grow from 395 thousand head in 2026 to 417 thousand head in 2028.
Milk production in Ukraine has also declined in recent years—from 10.2 million metric tons in 2017 to 6.9 million metric tons in 2025, or by 33%.
At the same time, the study’s authors predict that the long-standing decline in milk production will come to an end and that production will stabilize at 6.7 million metric tons in 2026–2027.
Milk production at agricultural enterprises will continue to grow—from 3.4 million metric tons in 2026 to 3.7 million metric tons in 2027—while production on private farms will decrease from 3.3 million metric tons to 3 million metric tons, respectively. The share of industrial milk production is forecast to increase from 46% in 2025 to 55% in 2027.
Chagarovsky also emphasized that the Ukrainian dairy industry retains its potential for growth thanks to industrial production and the modernization of enterprises.
According to the study, Ukraine’s dairy industry currently produces 6.9 million metric tons of milk per year, accounts for about 0.25% of GDP, and generates 124 billion hryvnia in output. Ukraine’s share of global milk production stands at 0.7%.
To transition to an industrial model of sector development and increase production to 10 million metric tons of milk per year, investments totaling EUR9 billion are needed to establish a raw material base. Specifically, this includes increasing the herd by 750,000 cows and constructing approximately 700 industrial dairy farms. According to the study’s authors, an additional EUR6 billion needs to be allocated to modernizing and expanding processing capacities.
The study “Ukraine’s Dairy Industry in the Context of European Integration” was prepared by the Ukrainian Dairy Industry Association.
Cow, dairy industry, EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, INVESTMENTS, MILK, PRODUCTION
The Ukrainian Dairy Industry Association (UDIA) advocates a return to a full food labeling regime to prevent future product counterfeiting and misleading consumer information, according to a statement from the Association.
In its view, at the start of the full-scale invasion, legislative changes that allowed labeling requirements to be suspended were justified; however, today enterprises in frontline regions have sufficient state support tools under the “Made in Ukraine” policy—specifically, compensation for equipment purchases, recovery programs, and property insurance.
Furthermore, even in areas close to the combat zone, manufacturers have the ability to establish stable supply chains and continue operations without the need to maintain simplified labeling requirements, the Association believes.
“At the same time, it is precisely in these regions that the activities of certain manufacturers of counterfeit products are currently being observed, who are effectively using the resolution as a tool to legitimize unscrupulous practices. Therefore, maintaining this regulation poses risks to public health, misleads consumers, and effectively creates favorable conditions for illegal business and food fraud,” the Association emphasizes.
As reported, on March 3, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 186 “Certain Issues Regarding the Labeling of Food Products Under Martial Law,” which temporarily permits manufacturers not to update labeling in cases of forced changes to the recipe due to raw material shortages or supply issues.
Consumer prices for dairy products in Ukraine showed a significantly slower rate of growth in the first quarter of 2026 compared to other food categories, according to the Ukrainian Dairy Industry Association (UDIA).
The industry association noted that, on an annual basis, milk prices rose by 7.3%, sour cream by 5.7%, and soft cheeses by 5.3%, while the price of butter increased by only 1.9%. At the same time, the cost of meat, eggs, and bread increased by 15% to over 20% during the same period.
“Over the past six months, dairy prices have remained relatively stable. They rose slightly or even fell slightly, as in the case of butter, which became 1.4% cheaper. In contrast, eggs, vegetable oil, and bread have risen significantly in price, while only pork and chicken have become cheaper. The situation is similar with producer prices. The dairy industry, therefore, remains one of the main factors holding back food inflation,” the statement quotes a representative of the SMPU as saying.
According to the association’s data, the annual change in producers’ selling prices for dairy products ranged from -3.2% for butter to +5% for sour cream.
By comparison, producer prices for beef, poultry, pasta, and bread rose significantly more—up to 34%.
Over the past six months, the SMPU reported, producer prices for dairy products have mostly declined, while most other food products continued to rise in price.
Raw milk production in Ukraine in January–March 2026 fell by 10% compared to the same period in 2025—to 1.31 million tons, the Association of Milk Producers (AMP) reported, citing data from the State Statistics Service.
The industry association noted that in March 2026, farms of all categories produced 496,200 tons of milk, which is 10.7% less than in March 2025. At the same time, the industrial sector showed growth: enterprises produced 285,800 tons of raw milk (+4.9%), while private farms saw a 25.8% drop in production to 210,400 tons.
“Milk producers are under pressure from lower purchase prices and rising production costs. The spike in oil prices due to the conflict in the Middle East has led to higher logistics costs. Natural gas prices have also risen, triggering higher prices for nitrogen fertilizers. In particular, urea prices rose by nearly 50% year-over-year due to Iran’s blockade of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” the UAM reported.
The association’s analysts emphasized that labor shortages, security risks, energy supply issues, and limited access to credit remained among the key obstacles for businesses in March. The situation is particularly critical in the Kharkiv region, where farmers are forced to evacuate their farms or abandon planting due to constant shelling and the mining of fields.
The UAA emphasized that an additional challenge is adapting to the new requirements of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy for 2028–2034. The European approach involves moving away from payments per hectare or head of livestock in favor of meeting environmental KPIs (soil protection, biodiversity).
“The new architecture of the EU’s agricultural policy requires Ukrainian producers to incur significant modernization costs. Amid martial law and milk prices below cost, farmers urgently need state support. Currently, 10–15% of small and medium-sized dairy farms are at risk of closure,” the association concluded.
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.
