Ukraine’s dairy industry had a tough year in 2025: what happened on the market
6 January 06:30
2025 was a challenging year for Ukraine’s dairy industry amid a full-scale war and economic instability. During the year, the market experienced both periods of relative stability and deep crises. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Infagro.
At the beginning of the year, the market situation looked relatively controlled. Against the backdrop of record high raw milk prices, processors managed to raise prices for finished products and overcome the commodity market crisis that emerged in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In mid-2025, the market balance was maintained by high global prices for exchange-traded dairy products, primarily butter. This allowed the industry to remain stable despite the difficult business environment.
The worst situation was in the fourth quarter of the year. Global commodity markets plummeted, cheese imports increased, and processors were forced to significantly reduce milk purchase prices during the off-season. Massive power outages were an additional challenge.
Despite this, the overall results of the year for the industry were relatively positive.
In 2025, dairy plants could supply about 3.6 million tons of raw milk, which is 9% more than last year and even higher than the pre-war level of 2021. Dairy production is growing faster than domestic consumption, so producers are increasing exports.
According to preliminary estimates, exports of dairy products in terms of milk increased by 17% to 0.7 million tons in 2025. At the same time, imports remain significant at about 0.4 million tons, due to price disparity.
