Farmers increased milk production in the first quarter
28 April 2025 15:57
Dairy farms have increased the production of raw milk, which may contribute to an increase in surpluses in the domestic market and complicate the sale of finished products.
This is reported by the Association of Milk Producers, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to preliminary data of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in March 2025, farms of all categories produced 556 thousand tons of raw milk, which is 117 thousand tons more (27%) compared to February this year, but 20 thousand tons less (-4%) compared to March last year.
In January-March 2025, the volume of milk yield in Ukraine amounted to 1.44 million tons, which is 53 thousand tons (-4%) less than in the previous year. In March 2025, the share of enterprises in the production of raw milk amounted to 49%, and households – 51%.
Enterprises produced 272 thousand tons of raw milk in March 2025, which is 33 thousand tons more (14%) compared to February and 16 thousand tons more (6%) compared to March 2024. In January-March, MTFs produced 771 thousand tons of raw milk, which is 37 thousand tons (5%) more than in the previous year.
In March, milk yields in households amounted to 284 thousand tons, which is 84 thousand tons more (42%) than in February, but 37 thousand tons less (-11%) than in March 2024. In January-March, the private household sector produced 676 thousand tons of raw milk, which is 90 thousand tons (-12%) less than in the previous year.
The most significant increase in milk production at agricultural enterprises was in Zakarpattia region (50%), Lviv region (23%), Khmelnytsky region (19%), Mykolaiv region (18%), Chernivtsi region (15%), Ternopil region (12%), Rivne region (7%), Zhytomyr region (6%), Poltava region (6%), Cherkasy region (4%) and Kharkiv region (2%) compared to the previous year.
“Today, the production of dairy products in Ukraine is outstripping the volume of its sales. The domestic market is experiencing a decline in demand for dairy products. This is due to the intensification of the Russian occupiers’ missile and bomb attacks on cities with a population of over a million people and the outflow of their residents abroad. However, dairy processing enterprises are striving to promote the recovery of demand for dairy products from the population through discounts and promotional offers in retail chains,” analysts of AMP state.
Earlier in March, the number of cattle increased in Ukraine, while the rate of decline in the number of cows slowed down.
As of April 1, 2025, 2 million 138.4 thousand heads of cattle are kept in the household and industrial sector of Ukraine, including 1 million 149.9 thousand cows.
Compared to March 1, the number of cattle in Ukraine increased by 56 thousand heads (3%), and the number of cows decreased by 200 heads (-0.02%).
Compared to April 1, 2024, the number of cattle decreased by 178 thousand heads (-8%), including 107 thousand heads (-9%).
About 43% of animals are kept at industrial enterprises, and 57% are kept in households.
