By KYIV. Nov 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine imported 6,080 tonnes of dairy products in October 2023, which is 27.8% more than in September and 35% more than in October 2022, which is the highest figure since March 2022.
The Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UAC) reported growth is recorded in all categories of dairy products, but the largest volumes of imports are cheeses – 3,200 tonnes. In addition, imports of butter doubled in October, reaching 619 tonnes, which is the highest figure since November 2021.
“In just ten months of 2023, some 48,890 tonnes of dairy products were imported, which is 6.1% less than in the same period last year, but at the same time the value is 11.3% higher ($210.2 million),” the UAC emphasized.
According to association analysts, export volumes of dairy products remain stable for the second month in a row – 8,250 tonnes, which corresponds to the same period last year. However, in monetary terms, income decreased by 19% and amounted to $226.94.
At the same time, UAC experts noted an increase in demand in the global dairy market after a nine-month decline in prices. This is confirmed by the FAO index for October and the increase in trading on the Global Dairy Trade: the average value of the FAO Dairy Price Index in October was 111.3 points, which is 2.4 points (2.2%) higher than in September, but still 28 points (20.1%) lower than in the corresponding period last year.
“In October, world prices for milk powder increased the most. This happened mainly under the influence of a sharp increase in import demand both under contracts with short and long delivery periods. An additional factor in the increase in prices for dairy products was the limited supply of milk in Western Europe and there is some uncertainty about the impact of weather conditions on production in the countries of Oceania,” explained UAC analyst Maksym Hopka.
