In June the Ukrainian dairy market situation can be defined as “steadily poor” – INFAGRO.

There is plenty of milk on the market, but the demand is low and prices are getting lower. Farmers are in despair.

Production of the seasonal dairy products has grown, but it is extremely difficult to sell them. Export needs to be more active, but importers do not want to pay a decent price.  Many market operators do not want to sell the goods below the cost. They either entirely quit production or work for the warehouse stocks.

June and May are the most productive dairy months in Ukraine. Therefore, the season of “big milk” is in full swing, there is a surplus of the raw milk in the market, although the milk production is expected to become less active in a few weeks. But just this year the country does not need such a large amount of milk: due to the economic hardships the domestic consumption does not increase and exports operations are  unprofitable because of the low marlet prices.

The rate of milk production is also stable, at least, this is what official statistics declares. According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, 4039.9 thousand t milk yield  is reported, which is 0.9% less than the same period last year. Production in households traditionally declined (-2.5%), while the agricultural enterprises show the  increase (+ 3.5%).

Ukrainian dairy market is transforming in favor of better marketability, the share of the raw milk produced in dairy farms (agricultural enterprises) is growing and the increase in this category is mainly due to the growth of the cows’ productivity. At the same time, the number of cows is getting lower.

As of June, there were 2192.3 thousand livestock (3.6% less than last year). The dynamics of reduction is almost equal in all producers categories: -3.4% in agricultural enterprises and -3.7% in households.

INFAGRO