In Ukraine the trend of consolidating livestock farms is strengthening

In Ukraine, there is a trend towards the consolidation of dairy farms. And if previously farms with 300-400 dairy cows were the norm, now there will be fewer of them. As noted, for example, in an interview with the Latifundist portal, Mykola Demchak, director of Siy Dobro, said that such farms will either move towards zero or towards a thousand head. In his opinion, the main reason for this will be the issue of profitability.

In general, the expert believes that there is room for enterprises of various sizes in the Ukrainian market. But it will be difficult for small businesses to compete with large ones in terms of the cost of milk production. Therefore, they could produce highly specialized products and occupy a separate market segment. In general, according to forecasts of scientists from the Institute of Agrarian Economics, in 2025, livestock production will increase by 1.5% compared to the previous year and will reach approximately UAH 217 billion. As Yuriy Lupenko, Director of the National Scientific Center "Institute of Agrarian Economics", Academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, noted, an increase of 3% is projected against last year's figures for livestock and poultry production. In particular, pork production will increase by 4.6% compared to 2024 due to increased sales of live weight products. And due to a 4.3% reduction in the number of cattle, a significant decrease in meat production is expected. Also, due to a decrease in the number of sheep and goats, a decline in the production of meat from these animals is predicted. But milk production will remain almost at the level of 2024, although the number of cows will continue to decrease. 0.9% more eggs will be produced than last year.

In general, according to scientists' forecasts, in 2025, the production of gross livestock output will increase by 1.5% compared to the previous year, which indicates the restoration of pre-war trends in livestock development after a sharp decline due to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the temporary occupation of its territories and hostilities.

As for the current situation, in particular milk production, in February, milk production in Ukraine amounted to 439 thousand tons. According to the Association of Milk Producers, enterprises produced 239 thousand tons of raw milk in February, and households - 200 thousand tons. The most significant increase in milk production was recorded at agricultural enterprises in Lviv (+21%), Mykolaiv (+19%), Khmelnytsky (+13%), Ternopil (+12%), Chernivtsi (+15%), Vinnytsia (+8%), Rivne (+8%), Zhytomyr (+7%), Poltava (+6%), Ivano-Frankivsk (+4%) and Cherkasy regions (+4%).