Power outages, rising production costs, and increasing competition from imported products have become serious challenges for Ukraine’s dairy sector. This was stated by Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) Denys Marchuk, who emphasized the need to strengthen state support for dairy producers.

“The production of dairy products has become more expensive due to power outages, and in some cases certain production processes even had to be halted. Costs have increased, while access to affordable financial resources for producers has not expanded. That is why the issue of state support for the sector is extremely relevant today. Recently, we held committee hearings on supporting dairy producers, as their presence in the domestic market is declining,” emphasized Denys Marchuk.

Ukrainian dairy producers are forced to operate under much more challenging conditions than their European competitors, who receive state subsidies and support.

“The UAC has proposed directing part of state financial support toward the development of dairy farms. In addition, we are currently working on attracting international grant programs that could support not only small producers with limited cattle herds, but also medium-sized enterprises. This will help maintain the viability of the sector,” noted the Deputy Chairman of the UAC.

A separate issue for the Ukrainian market is the illegal import of dairy products, particularly cheese, which reaches store shelves without proper customs clearance.

“A significant share of imported cheese entering the Ukrainian market is counterfeit. In other words, it is brought in illegally and is not subject to customs duties. Under such conditions, when European producers receive state support in their countries and part of the products enters without paying duties, it becomes very difficult for Ukrainian producers to compete on price. That is why we have called on law enforcement agencies to strengthen control at border checkpoints in order to prevent illegal imports, particularly from Poland. We hope that the relevant decisions will be implemented in the near future,” concluded Denys Marchuk.

According to him, not much time has passed since the committee hearings on supporting the dairy sector, but agricultural associations expect practical results and stronger control over dairy product imports.