Industrial Dairy Farms (IDFs) have increased their raw milk production volumes since the beginning of the year and managed to avoid a drop in yields this summer, thanks to favorable weather conditions and measures to improve cow comfort, reports Georghii Kukhaleishvili, an analyst at the Association of Milk Producers of Ukraine.
According to preliminary data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine (SSSU), in August 2025, farms of all categories produced 640 thousand tonnes of raw milk, which is 23 thousand tonnes less (-3%) than in July 2025, but 72 thousand tonnes less (-10%) than in August 2024. From January to August 2025, milk yields in Ukraine totaled 4.69 million tonnes, a decrease of 239 thousand tonnes (-5%) compared to the same period last year. In August 2025, the share of commercial enterprises in raw milk production was 42%, while household farms accounted for 58%.
Industrial dairy farms produced 268 thousand tonnes of raw milk in August 2025, which is only 1 thousand tonnes less (-0.3%) compared to July 2025, but 18 thousand tonnes more (+7%) compared to August 2024. From January to August 2025, UDFs produced 2.1 million tonnes of raw milk, an increase of 116 thousand tonnes (+6%) compared to the same period last year.
Household farms produced 372 thousand tonnes of milk in August 2025, which is 22 thousand tonnes less (-6%) than in July 2025 and 90 thousand tonnes less (-19%) than in August 2024. From January to August 2025, the household sector produced 2.59 million tonnes of raw milk, a decrease of 355 thousand tonnes (-12%) compared to the same period last year.
From January to August 2025, IDFs increased raw milk production volumes in 15 regions of Central and Western Ukraine. It should be noted that agricultural enterprises increased raw milk production the most in Zakarpattia region (+29%), Lviv region (+22%), and Khmelnytskyi region (+21%) compared to the previous year. The consequences of the war and relocation impacted the decline in raw milk production from January to August 2025 at IDFs in frontline regions such as Zaporizhzhia region (-11%), Dnipropetrovsk region (-5%), Sumy region (-4%), and Kharkiv region (-3%).
Georghii Kukhaleishvili notes that despite Russian missile and bomb attacks, relocation, and rising production costs, the growth rate of raw milk production in Ukraine's industrial sector since the beginning of 2025 has been among the best in Europe and the world. Specifically, the yield growth rates during this period in the US and New Zealand were +1.4%, while the EU reduced its raw milk production by 0.3%. Although yields at IDFs were mostly stable in August and generally corresponded to July 2025 yields, the weather this summer was more favorable than last year, and fans were installed on farms to improve cow comfort and avoid heat stress. This year, a significant drop in yields was avoided, unlike the summer of 2024.
However, despite the production increase in the industrial sector, yields in private household farms continue to decline year-on-year. It is likely that if household farms do not consolidate by 2030, their milk will cease to be processed and will be used for personal consumption. The operation of new IDFs in Western Ukraine is compensating for the yield reduction in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine due to ongoing hostilities.
Restraining factors that may discourage agricultural enterprises from further increasing raw milk production include falling global commodity prices, weak domestic demand, reduced shipments to foreign markets due to the suspension of exports to the EU after quotas were exhausted, and increased competition from Russian and Belarusian suppliers in post-Soviet markets.
The reluctance of milk processing plants to purchase raw milk at a fair price amidst farmers' rising production costs does not encourage IDFs to increase yields. Domestic milk processing plants with outdated technological bases are unable to compete on quality with enterprises in developed countries. Therefore, they are not ready to buy raw milk at adequate prices, as they sell their products at lower prices to withstand competition in export markets.
From January to August 2025, about 55% of raw milk was produced by agricultural enterprises in the following regions:
- Poltava region – 319.3 thousand tonnes;
- Cherkasy region – 258.6 thousand tonnes;
- Khmelnytskyi region – 209.2 thousand tonnes;
- Chernihiv region – 188.6 thousand tonnes;
- Kyiv region – 186.9 thousand tonnes.
Regarding beef production, according to preliminary estimates by the State Statistics Service, the volume of cattle slaughter at agricultural enterprises in August 2025 was 9.25 thousand tonnes, which is 1.9 thousand tonnes more (+25%) than in July 2025, but 1.3 thousand tonnes less (-12%) than in August 2024. From January to August 2025, the volume of cattle slaughter at agricultural enterprises was 84.13 thousand tonnes.
The largest volume (60%) of cattle realized for slaughter at agricultural enterprises came from the following regions:
- Kyiv region – 12.45 thousand tonnes;
- Poltava region – 10.92 thousand tonnes;
- Cherkasy region – 9.22 thousand tonnes;
- Vinnytsia region – 7.83 thousand tonnes;
- Chernihiv region – 7.62 thousand tonnes.
Press service of the Association of Milk Producers
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