Media: The accumulation of cheap foreign milk is forcing Ukrainians to cut their livestock
In Ukraine, domestic dairy products are displaced by foreign dairy products. It is cheaper and therefore more in demand. It is less and less profitable to produce milk in Ukraine. The lack of state support from a domestic producer has led to an excess of more affordable product from the EU.
Today, Ukrainian farmers are not making money, and are barely going to zero. Keeping cattle is unprofitable, and dairy farmers sell animals.
“They started cutting cattle. Over the last three months, imports have started to scale up. From the same Europe, from Belarus. This niche is quickly being replaced by the European niche, ”comments animal farm owner Vladimir Khvostov.
Khvostov's enterprise counts 1.5 thousand cows, which produce 40 tons of milk daily. Until 2016, the state refunded VAT, in 2018 it gave subsidies, and in 2020 there is no privilege for national dairy farmers.
At the same time, Europeans care about their farmers. For example, a farmer in Paris receives € 580 per cow per year. It is 15.5 thousand UAH, or 22 times more than the farmer in Ukraine.
Moreover, the EU supports milk producers by compensating for losses caused by falling market prices. If the cost of milk is 50 Euro cents and the market price is 35 Euro cents, then the difference is paid by the state to the farmer in 15 Euro cents.
Ukrainians can only dream of such help, says expert of the association of milk producers Olena Zhupinas.