By KYIV. Dec 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Under the conditions of a full-scale Russian military invasion, Ukrainian producers and processors of milk are not ready to refuse to work with first-class milk from January 1, 2023, so the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine postponed this tightening of requirements for the quality of raw milk for one year from day of the termination or lifting of martial law.
This decision was a compromise between the relevant ministry and market participants, said Maksym Fasteyev, the leading dairy industry analyst and partner in Infagro projects.
"In the conditions of the current functioning of the country and the dairy industry, in particular, it was very difficult to make a qualitative leap in the transformation of producers and actively involve processors in this process, and in some regions it was almost impossible. Since the beginning of autumn, the discussion on the postponement has been actively conducted with the participation of specialists from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and specialized associations. I think that in fact the judgement of Solomon was made," he said.
He clarified that the refusal to process raw milk of the first grade from January 1, 2023 is postponed for a period coming one year from the date of termination or cancellation of martial law in Ukraine. In turn, the rejection of raw materials of the highest grade is postponed from January 1, 2024 for a period that occurs two years from the date of termination or cancellation of martial law.
According to him, the tightening of requirements for the quality of raw milk in Ukraine is a European integration measure, the purpose of which is to achieve compliance with the requirements of Regulation No. 853/2004 of the European Parliament and Council in terms of acceptable levels of criteria for raw milk.
