Dairy farms to build or upgrade nearly 60 facilities this year

Ukrainian dairy farms are planning to commission 58 livestock facilities with a total capacity of more than 8,000 cows and over 22,000 head of cattle in 2020, Vice-President of the Association of Milk Producers Hanna Lavreniuk has said, referring to data from the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine.

"This information is completely in line with the first results of a survey conducted by the Association of Milk Producers of Ukraine. Our experts have already interviewed almost 200 dairy farms about the results of their business activities in 2019 and plans for 2020. The survey is ongoing, but over 20% of the farms surveyed are planning to build new dairy farms or renovate the existing ones this year. More than 10% said that despite the high cost of milk and raw materials, they will continue to reduce livestock," she said.

Lavreniuk said that more than 15% of the surveyed companies, on the contrary, plan to increase their livestock. Just as many farms, while not considering capital investment or expansion, will work to increase herd productivity and profitability of milk production. More than 10% of respondents are considering buying new equipment.

According to the association, cow numbers in Ukraine decreased by 6.4% in January 2020 year-on-year, to 1.79 million.

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