In 2023, Ukraine reduced exports of dairy products in monetary terms by almost 30% compared to 2022 and increased imports by more than 15%, the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine (UDEP) reported on Facebook.
“In 2023, the negative balance of exports and imports of dairy products amounted to $77.2 million, while a year earlier this figure was positive – $28.2 million. Thus, the consumption of dairy products last year “washed out” funds from Ukraine,” the industry association said.
The UMPA emphasized that import growth in 2023 occurred in almost all categories of dairy products. The difference between exports and imports (balance – IF-U) ranged from -289 tons in September to -615 tons in March for fermented milk products and from -1398 tons in January to -2902 tons in December for cheese.
Imports of butter exceeded exports for the first time in a year in October 2023, and in November showed the most negative balance for this commodity.
In addition, in 2023, exports of butter decreased by 45%, while exports of other types of dairy products did not change significantly. In general, due to unfavorable price conditions in 2023, export revenues from sales of this product decreased by 1.4 times compared to the level of 2022.
“In 2023, the volume of imports of butter and whey increased significantly (2.4 times). The volume of cheese imports in physical terms remained at the same level, but increased by 10% in value. In general, this led to an increase in imports by more than 1.15 times compared to the previous year, 2022,” the UUL stated.
