Dairy farms reduced milk production volumes in January 2026 due to blackouts and the inability of milk processing enterprises to accept raw materials during power outage periods. However, milk yield volumes in the industrial sector were higher than last year.
According to preliminary data from the State Statistics Service, in January 2026, households of all categories produced 421.2 thousand tons of raw milk, which is 56.5 thousand tons less (-11.8%) compared to December 2025 and 31.5 thousand tons less (-7%) compared to January 2026. In January 2026, the share of enterprises (industrial farms) in raw milk production was 64%, while the share of households was 36%.
Enterprises produced 269.9 thousand tons of raw milk in January 2026, which is 1.4 thousand tons less (-0.5%) compared to December, but 10.4 thousand tons more (+4%) compared to January 2025.
In households, milk yield volumes in January 2026 amounted to 151.3 thousand tons of milk, which is 55.1 thousand tons less (-26.7%) compared to December and 41.9 thousand tons less (-21.7%) compared to January 2025.
According to the report of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture "Forecast for the Agricultural Market of Ukraine for 2026," the reduction in raw milk production is caused by a further decrease in the number of cows in households and limited access to electricity due to shelling, which increases milk processing costs. Milk production in 2025 amounted to 6.8 million tons, which is 4% less than in 2024 and 15% below the 5-year average.
In general, Ukraine's dairy sector demonstrates a growing concentration of production in the industrial segment, while households are gradually leaving milk production. This tendency emphasizes the need for further modernization and state support to stabilize and develop the industry. Industrial dairy enterprises continue to implement modern management models, purchase new high-performance cow breeds, and invest in the automation and modernization of farms.
An unforeseen increase in milk yields in the second half of 2025 in the USA, Oceania, South America, and Europe led to the appearance of a global oversupply of commodities, including butter, which proved problematic to sell and is putting pressure on prices. Low prices for raw milk do not correspond to its cost of production on dairy farms, which increased production expenses due to power supply problems that worsened in January 2026.
Farmers are forced to spend more money on their own power generation. Due to many-hour blackouts, there were disruptions in the shipment of raw milk from dairy farms to milk processing plants. Under crisis conditions, dairy farms may revise investment plans for 2026, as it is problematic to increase raw milk production during blackouts, and a significant recovery of demand for dairy products on the domestic market in the short term is unlikely.
In January 2026, agricultural enterprises increased raw milk production volumes in 13 regions, namely in Rivne region (+26%), Lviv region (+15%), Ivano-Frankivsk region (+14%), Ternopil region (+12%), Volyn region (+9%), Zhytomyr region (+8%), Kyiv region (+5%), Khmelnytskyi region (+5%), Vinnytsia region (+3%), Mykolaiv region (+3%), Cherkasy region (+3%), Chernihiv region (+3%), and Poltava region (+1%) compared to the previous year's period.
In January 2026, agricultural enterprises in the following regions produced about 55% of the raw milk:
- Poltava region – 39.90 thousand tons;
- Cherkasy region – 33.80 thousand tons;
- Khmelnytskyi region – 25.70 thousand tons;
- Chernihiv region – 24.60 thousand tons;
- Vinnytsia region – 24.60 thousand tons.
Regarding beef production, according to preliminary estimates by the State Statistics Service, in January 2026, cattle slaughter volumes at enterprises amounted to 198.7 thousand tons, which is 400 tons (+0.2%) more compared to the previous year's period.
The largest amount of cattle (73%) was sold for slaughter at agricultural enterprises in the following regions:
- Vinnytsia region – 45.5 thousand tons;
- Cherkasy region – 35.5 thousand tons;
- Dnipropetrovsk region – 33.5 thousand tons;
- Lviv region – 18.8 thousand tons;
- Volyn region – 11.7 thousand tons.
Press Service of the Association of Milk Producers
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