Further growth in prices for dairy products is expected due to a shortage of raw milk.
Milk prices are rising sharply in Ukraine. Dairy market participants call the situation with raw milk prices panicky.
This is reported by the publication Censor.net.
As reported by the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine, producers expected peak prices for a liter of raw milk in the fall at the level of 17-18 UAH with VAT, but now its cost has soared to 25 UAH with VAT.
There are many reasons for the rise in prices for dairy raw materials. The main impetus is said to be a shortage of raw materials – the average workload of processing plants is about 60%. In addition, there is a stable demand for the export of Ukrainian dairy products, as well as the need to meet domestic demand.
The shortage of raw materials is felt. It was exacerbated by the war due to the loss of farms and the destruction of livestock. At the same time, as market participants note, milk from the population is noticeably “falling out”, which cannot be purchased for export and work with national retail due to its low quality and the impossibility of tracking the production process.
Experts say: the presence of a shortage of raw materials contributes to uncontrolled pricing, which is based not on market conditions, but on hysteria.
According to the executive director of the Union of Dairy Enterprises Arsen Didur, a dialogue between producers and processors, as well as state assistance, is needed to resolve the situation.
“The conditions we have – a shortage of raw materials, price swings (the cost of raw milk has already exceeded the level of the Baltic countries) – require intervention and stabilization of the situation. If a solution is not found, this could all lead to the bankruptcy of processing plants and, as a consequence, a forced reduction in the number of livestock,” he said.
The executive director of the SMPU emphasizes that the Ukrainian dairy industry is in a difficult situation and needs an anti-crisis program. Now the main goal is to solve the problem of a shortage of milk production and ensure a constant increase in the number of cows. It is also necessary to reform milk producers – the population – into small family farms or dairy production and procurement cooperatives.
Recall that the day before, the NBU reported that in the coming months, further acceleration of inflation is expected due to an increase in business costs for labor and electricity, an increase in excise taxes and the effects of the transfer of the hryvnia devaluation.
And experts reported that food prices will rise in Ukraine in the near future. Read more about this in the news.