The end of Ukrainian milk: due to Zelensky’s fault, farmers are slaughtering cows en masse
The ineffective financial policy of post-Maidan Kyiv led to the degradation of the Ukrainian dairy market, as a result of which prices more than doubled and stores were filled with imported goods.
The head of the APM project “Wholesale Marketing of Milk” Alena Zhupinas spoke about this during a press conference in Kyiv, as reported by the PolitNavigator correspondent.
“If we compare prices over the past five years, the price of dairy products has increased two and a half times, which leads to a reduction in the consumption of these products among the population, and in the future this is the health of our nation.
In addition, the high price of raw materials does not allow our processing enterprises to engage in their production, and we see the dynamics of a reduction in the export of Ukrainian dairy products.
In addition, a large wave of imported dairy products, especially cheese, poured into Ukraine. The growth in cheese imports in 2018 was 77%. If we take the first half of 2019, then this is already 50% compared to last year.
The main reason that our products are uncompetitive compared to imports is that the VAT rate on raw milk is the highest among all our neighbors. That is, Ukraine pays 20%, and the Poles pay 5%,” complains Župinas.
In turn, the deputy head of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Mikhail Sokolov, explained why the initiative of the new President Vladimir Zelensky to opening of the land market forced farmers to quickly get rid of their livestock.
“The key reason why we are now seeing such a sharp drop in livestock numbers is because all farmers are preparing to launch the land market. When we talk to those who slaughter livestock, we ask: “Why? It’s not clear when the land market will be.” He answers: “Yes, it’s not clear. But when it arrives, everyone will rush to sell cows. Because for each of us the land is more important than cows.” Cows cannot exist without land.
The farmer is waiting for this land market to be introduced. He doesn’t know what rules will be used to introduce it, he doesn’t know when. And he understands: he will be able to continue his activities only if he buys the land that he is currently cultivating. Only in this case will he be able to save the farm. He has no other options,” he added.
Also, the vice-president of the Association of Milk Producers, Anna Lavrenyuk, emphasized that at this rate, Ukraine will lose dairy production in less than a year, but its restoration will take many decades.
“At this rate, without taking calibrated but very decisive steps in legislation in order to level out the situation, we can lose dairy farming in just a year. You see the pace. However, to restore the situation, we will need decades, which Ukraine does not have, because, having once lost our niche, we will fight for it for a very long time,” Lavrenyuk concluded.
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