The second month of the war. The shock of the first days is over. We can say that our dairy companies have re-established all logistic ties, except for exports. The state lent a hand by introducing the purchase of dairy products – cheese, butter, milk powder, condensed and UHT milk. Currently, 30% of dairy products are sold through public procurement.

Ukraine’s dairy industry is now capable to meet all the country’s needs in basic dairy products. Several million citizens left the country, part of the territory has been occupied. In my estimation, stable work has been restored by about 60-65% of processing enterprises. Taking into account the balances in warehouses – cheese, cheese product, milk powder, condensed milk, which were previously exported, the demand for the dairy products can be met by domestic enterprises. Ukrainian dairies have resumed processing, some have even increased the volume of production.

Some of the dairy enterprises are located in the occupied territories, some in the front zone, but given that before the war many dairies operated with 0.6 of capacity, the decrease in the number of operating enterprises did not affect the volume of milk purchased by processors, especially given that some international companies closed their dairies in the first days of the war. Therefore, the plants that remained operating were able to increase their processing capacities.

As the domestic dairy industry can meet the domestic demand, the SMPU (Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine) raises the question of excluding dairy products from the list of critical imports, because it is impractical to spend currency on the dairy products that Ukraine can produce itself.

30% of sales of dairy products now go through public procurement, 20% – is sold through the dairies’ own channels, and 50% – through the retail trade chains. And the problem is that the trade chains are continuing the practice of non-payment, as they used to before the war, and this creates a serious problem. And this problem concerns not only suppliers. After all, these non-payments lead to the fact that dairies, in their turn, are not capable to pay in time their suppliers of raw milk, farmers, and this leads to problems that prevent agrarians from timely sowing and harvesting of fodder.

The issue of the relationship between retail chains and suppliers is constantly in the spotlight of the SMPU. The Headquarters of the President’s Office and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy hold regular meetings to discuss this issue. And while networks are looking for excuses for their non-payment, suppliers are looking for alternative ways of selling: selling their products at fairs, reorienting to small local chains, trying to expand participation in public procurement. And everyone is trying to avoid working with Fozzy trade chain.

SMPU is actively working, helping to ensure that in the conditions of mobilization dairies are not left without staff and the companies that deliver products throughout Ukraine are not left without transport. The Union provides official part of support – prepares appeals, advises dairies on how to properly draw up these important documents in martial law.

The Union constantly cooperates with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, ensuring that the maximum number of dairy products is included in the list of the state procurement orders and the maximum number of SMPU enterprises is given the opportunity to participate in the public procurement.

In addition, the SMPU has managed to get the status under which dairies were granted the right to purchase gas from the supplier of “last resort”. Therefore, from the point of view of gas energy supply, dairy enterprises are protected.

I can say that the difficulties of recent times have united the SMPU plants. We constantly discuss current issues, conduct surveys, listen to opinions, work with companies individually. I think that dairy companies can see the real benefits of belonging to SMPU, because we are constantly in touch, help solving practical problems and provide full support for communication between our companies and government agencies.

As for the settlement of relations between dairies and retail chains, as I have already mentioned, this is the most important issue that the Dairy Union constantly takes care of. And this is a question not only of business, but also of food security, because trade chains are only one of the links in the food supply chain to the population. And timely payments of the trade chains to their suppliers mean that dairy processors get the opportunity timely pay farmers for supply of the raw milk. And all together it means saving of our animal husbandry and milk processing.