The reduction in raw milk production in Ukraine is occurring due to personal peasant farms (household sector). The industrial sector is compensating for a portion of the production despite the unfavorable market situation and the consequences of the war, according to Georghii Kukhaleishvili, analyst at the Association of Milk Producers (AMP).
According to preliminary data from the State Statistics Service (Derzhstat), in October 2025, farms of all categories produced 567 thousand tonnes of raw milk, which is 45 thousand tonnes less (-7%) compared to September 2025 and 29 thousand tonnes less (-5%) compared to October 2024. In January–October 2025, milk yield volumes in Ukraine amounted to 5.87 million tonnes, which is 271 thousand tonnes less (-4%) compared to the same period last year. In October 2025, the share of enterprises in raw milk production was 47%, and the share of household farms was 53%.
Enterprises produced 264 thousand tonnes of raw milk in October 2025, which is 15 thousand tonnes less (-5%) compared to September 2025, but 22 thousand tonnes more (+9%) compared to October 2024. In January–October 2025, MTFs produced 2.64 million tonnes of raw milk, which is 187 thousand tonnes more (+7.6%) compared to the same period last year.
In household farms, milk yield volumes in October 2025 amounted to 303 thousand tonnes of milk, which is 31 thousand tonnes less (-9%) compared to September 2025 and 51 thousand tonnes less (-14%) compared to October 2024. In January–October 2025, the household sector produced 3.22 million tonnes of raw milk, which is 457 thousand tonnes less (-12%) compared to the same period last year.
Georghii Kukhaleishvili notes that the volumes of raw milk production in Ukraine are decreasing, primarily due to the household sector, which is ceasing to play an important role in the dairy industry. It is likely that if personal peasant farms do not consolidate by 2030, their milk will cease to be supplied for processing and will be used for own consumption. To remain in the industry, personal peasant farms must unite into cooperatives and form commercial batches of milk, or independently increase their herd size beyond 5 cows and develop craft dairy production.
The industrial sector compensates for the reduction in the household farm share and demonstrates stability in raw milk production despite blackouts and missile and bomb attacks. The growth rates of raw milk production in the industrial sector of Ukraine since the beginning of 2025 have been among the best in Europe and the world. For comparison, milk yield growth rates since the beginning of the year were +2.1% in the US, +1.6% in New Zealand, and only +0.8% in the EU. However, MTFs reduced milk production volumes over the last month amid falling procurement prices.
The geography of milk production in Ukraine has changed as a result of hostilities. Milk production is shifting from the ten most war-affected eastern and southern regions to the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil regions, which have shown the highest increase in livestock numbers over the last two years. Enterprises are relocating there from frontline regions.
In January–October 2025, the largest increases in raw milk production by agricultural enterprises were observed in the Zakarpattia region (+38%), Khmelnytskyi region (+22%), Lviv region (+20%), Kharkiv region (+16%), Ternopil region (+12%), Rivne region (+11%), and Mykolaiv region (+10%), compared to the same period last year. Overall, MTFs increased milk yield volumes in 16 regions.
In January–October 2025, approximately 55% of raw milk was produced by agricultural enterprises in the following regions:
- Poltava region – 397 thousand tonnes
- Cherkasy region – 324 thousand tonnes
- Khmelnytskyi region – 261 thousand tonnes
- Vinnytsia region – 237.1 thousand tonnes
- Chernihiv region – 235.4 thousand tonnes
Regarding beef production, according to preliminary estimates by Derzhstat, the volume of cattle slaughter in farms of all categories in January–October 2025 amounted to 286.2 thousand tonnes, which is 8% less compared to the same period last year. Volumes of cattle slaughter decreased to 106.9 thousand tonnes (-3%) in agricultural enterprises and to 179.3 thousand tonnes (-11%) in household farms compared to January–October 2024.
The largest share (57%) of cattle realized for slaughter by agricultural enterprises was in the following regions:
- Kyiv region – 15.41 thousand tonnes
- Poltava region – 13.33 thousand tonnes
- Cherkasy region – 11.72 thousand tonnes
- Vinnytsia region – 9.73 thousand tonnes
- Chernihiv region – 9.36 thousand tonnes
Press service of the Association of Milk Producers
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