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 biopharmaceutical company Biopharma plans to launch a plant in Arad, Romania, in late 2027, with an initial investment of EUR85 million, company president Kostyantyn Yefimenko told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
“We have already completed construction of the building and will finish installing all utility lines by September 1. We have already ordered the filling line. By the end of June, we will have contracted for the reactor equipment and all other process equipment. We will begin operations in December 2027,” Yefimenko said.
The initial investment in the plant in Arad is EUR85 million; the Romanian project as a whole will consist of four phases of varying sizes. Total investment in the plants in Uzhhorod and Arad is approximately $500 million.
He noted that the company’s development is not focused on a single project.
“Bila Tserkva is our flagship plant. We’re not shifting our focus; we’re developing all of them—Uzhhorod and Arad—and we’ll continue to build in Latin America,” Yefimenko said.
As previously reported, Biopharma plans to launch the first phase of its plant for the production of pharmaceutical products and immunobiological preparations in Uzhhorod in September 2026, which will provide a full cycle of blood plasma processing. The company has already invested EUR67 million in construction; the total cost of the first phase is EUR75 million. According to the plan, the volume of blood plasma-derived drug production in Uzhhorod will be twice that of production in Bila Tserkva, amounting to up to 1.5 million liters of blood plasma per year; the project in Romania is twice as large.
During the “Industrial Evolution: Manufacturing Drives the Economy” forum in Bila Tserkva, Yefimenko also announced that Biopharma had registered its albumin product in Brazil.
Biopharma exports its products to dozens of countries and plans to expand its presence in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America while continuing to increase its production capacity.
To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, Ukraine needs to attract approximately EUR550 billion in additional investment beyond what it is currently investing in decarbonization.
This was reported in a press release by the DIXI Group think tank, citing new data from the Climate Neutrality Tool, developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) specifically for Ukraine as part of the “Green Agenda for Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine” project with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
“According to new data from the Climate Neutrality Tool—a model developed by SEI specifically for Ukraine—achieving climate neutrality by 2050 is both realistic and feasible,” the center noted.
As stated in the press release, SEI analyzed the sectors that have the greatest impact on greenhouse gas emissions in Ukraine and assessed their potential for transitioning to a clean economy. In particular, the energy sector has the greatest investment needs: approximately EUR 311 billion. This is followed by transportation—approximately EUR133 billion—and industry—EUR90 billion. Funding will not come solely from the public sector but will be shared between public and private entities.
SEI transferred the Climate Neutrality Tool to the Green Transition Office and, in May, conducted training for government officials on its use. Ukrainian government representatives gained the analytical capabilities and expert knowledge needed to assess decarbonization pathways, plan for green reconstruction, and support both Ukraine’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and its Low-Carbon Development Strategy through 2050.
SEI’s main partner in Ukraine is the Green Transition Office, an independent advisory body under the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine.
The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The tool covers 55 measures identified as the most effective for reducing emissions in Ukraine and enables policymakers and experts to create and compare various scenarios regarding emissions reductions, investment needs, GDP growth, and new jobs.
“We have developed a practical tool that allows Ukraine to continuously analyze and update its transition path to a clean economy. As new data becomes available and political priorities shift, the government can easily rerun the model and make informed decisions based on the latest data,” said Gotham Mutkumaran, an expert in energy system modeling at SEI Tallinn.
CLIMATE NEUTRALITY, DECARBONIZATION, DIXI Group, INVESTMENTS, SEI
“ORION.GROUP,” a manufacturer of stainless steel equipment and containers (Kyiv Oblast), has launched a mobile production complex that is unique in Ukraine. It allows for the bending, welding, and grinding of metal structures outside the factory—on the customer’s premises. The mobile production complex is used to manufacture and assemble tanks with a diameter of over 5 meters, the transportation of which in assembled form is difficult, expensive, or impossible. The investment in this project amounts to 35 million UAH.
This was announced by Dmytro Kysilevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development.
“ORION.GROUP” products for farmers and the food industry are sold with a 25% cost reimbursement to buyers from the state. This program is part of the “Made in Ukraine” policy for the development of Ukrainian manufacturers.
Currently, the ORION.GROUP mobile production complex is being used in the construction of a bioethanol plant in the Ternopil region. After that, the plan is to use this equipment to build an agricultural processing complex in an industrial park in the Khmelnytskyi region.
“ORION.GROUP” manufactures stainless steel tanks for the beer, juice, dairy, bioethanol, confectionery, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. In addition to Ukraine, the company has built plants and production lines in 65 countries worldwide. In 2011–2013, “ORION.GROUP” was engaged by the French consortium NOVARKA to construct the confinement (arch) over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
In 2025, the company’s sales volume amounted to 440 million UAH. During this period, the company paid 97 million UAH in taxes. The company employs 127 people.
INVESTMENTS, Kysilevsky, machine building, ORION.GROUP, STAINLESS STEEL
The United Arab Emirates has taken first place globally in terms of real estate market investment attractiveness, ahead of the United States and the United Kingdom, according to data from the Arada UAE Property Investment Index.
The study was conducted by the American Penta Group on behalf of the developer Arada from April 1 to 23, 2026. The survey included 689 investors from 12 key markets who have an annual income of over $100,000 and more than $250,000 in investment assets, and who have already invested or are interested in investing in real estate outside their home country.
According to the index, 56% of global investors expressed serious interest in the UAE real estate market. This is the highest figure among all markets included in the study. The U.S. received 54%, the UK 41%, France 28%, and Spain 27%.
Investor awareness of opportunities in the UAE real estate market reached 51%, which is comparable to the UK and close to the US. Arada notes that this confirms the UAE’s emergence as one of the most recognizable global centers for real estate investment.
Interest in the UAE is particularly high among investors from neighboring and rapidly growing markets. 91% of Indian investors, 92% of Egyptian investors, and 85% of Saudi respondents named the UAE as one of the three most attractive destinations for investment. Among European investors, the UAE has become the top overseas destination for the French (63%), Germans (60%), and Swiss (57%).
Investors cited the potential for high returns as the main factor driving the UAE’s appeal: 38% of respondents selected this criterion. For Australian investors, this figure reached 57%, for Spanish investors—56%, and for British investors—41%.
Security and stability were key factors for 65% of Chinese and 58% of German investors. Another 34% of all respondents cited the ease of purchasing and owning real estate as an important advantage; among investors from Saudi Arabia, this figure was 57%, and from Egypt, 41%.
Arada Group CEO Ahmed Al-Khoshaibi stated that the survey results confirm trends the company observes in its own sales: international investors increasingly note the maturity of regulations, economic stability, and the resilience of the UAE market even amid external challenges.
“The UAE has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to adapt faster than almost any other market in the world,” he noted.
The release of the index coincided with the announcement of major infrastructure investments in the UAE, including the 34-billion-dirham Dubai Metro Gold Line project, the launch of the first commercial air taxi network, and a 6-billion-dirham federal road corridor to improve connectivity between the emirates.
For the real estate market, this signals continued interest from international capital, despite signs of a cooling in certain segments following several years of rapid growth. Investors continue to view the UAE as a market offering a combination of returns, tax efficiency, stable regulation, and a relatively straightforward property ownership process.
Arada is a development company founded in 2017 in the UAE. The company carries out projects in real estate, retail, education, healthcare, fitness, wellness, and the hospitality sector. Arada’s project portfolio exceeds 130 billion dirhams; the company is also expanding its operations in the UK and Australia.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China’s economy fell by 10.3% year-over-year in January–April, to 287.69 billion yuan ($42 billion), according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The manufacturing sector attracted 78.9 billion yuan, while the services sector attracted 204.2 billion yuan. Notably, investment in high-tech industries rose by 20.3% to reach 166.3 billion yuan.
Luxembourg more than doubled its FDI (by 110.3%), Switzerland increased it by 60.8%, France by 58.3%, and the U.S. by 24.5%, according to data from the ministry cited by Xinhua News Agency.
In January–April, 20,113 new enterprises with foreign capital were registered in China, which was 6.8% higher than the figure for the same period in 2025.
As reported, FDI for 2025 fell by 9.5% to 747.7 billion yuan.
