Exports and imports trends in Ukraine 2020
Ukraine from an export-oriented country is becoming a balanced dairy country in 2020. This was already clear from the dynamics of the previous year. The situation is explained by the transformation of the industry and the raw milk base - cheap and low-quality milk from the private sector quickly “leaves”, high-quality raw milk from farms do not have time to compensate for the difference.
The processes of balance are accelerated by the growth of demand on the domestic market, which have been observed over the past two years. Correspondingly and logically, there is an active growth in imports. Import is more attractive in price, the reasons are (1) high prices of raw milk in Ukraine, (2) ineffective processing, first of all, concerns the majority of cheese producers.
An assortment of Imported products increased.Thus, retail competition has become stronger for local producers. Dairy producers profitability in Ukraine and demand allowed them to compete with imports last year. But this year raw milk has become more expensive, profitability has become minimal, it has become much harder to compete.
Source: Infagro