Analysis of Ukraine's milk and dairy products market

Abstract

To date, Ukraine's dairy and milk-processing industry has a number of problems that hinder its effective development. Producers of milk and dairy products are trying to move away from Soviet-era standards and adopt new European technologies. To date, the dairy industry is one of the leading sectors of the economy, which provides the population with food and is a component of food security of the state, which makes this work urgent. The article analyzes the state of the dairy products market in Ukraine for the period from 2016 to 2020. The paper presents the dynamics and forecast of the values of the main economic indicators of the Ukrainian market of milk and dairy products for the next year, formulates recommendations to improve the activities of actors of the market of milk and dairy products in Ukraine. The results are obtained on the basis of structural, dynamic and matrix analysis of the market. Considered the main problems of the dairy industry, including: reducing the number of dairy processing plants, reducing the number of cattle, the low level of technological equipment in production and lack of modern equipment for storage and processing of raw materials. As a consequence, such trends have led to a significant increase in the cost of production of raw milk and an expected increase in the price of finished products, which, in turn, has led to a reduction in demand for dairy products. Using SWOT- and PEST-analysis the properties of the milk and dairy products market of Ukraine as a whole, its subjects and their interaction have been studied and presented in a systematic form. Proposals to improve the state of the market of milk and dairy products in Ukraine are formulated. The proposals are grouped into the following areas: economic activity, technology and resources and state support. The combination of state support measures, entrepreneurial efforts, and reliance on international experience will preserve food security in Ukraine and provide the population with high-quality dairy products in the required quantity, reduce imports, and introduce advanced resource-saving technologies. There is a potential opportunity for Ukrainian producers to reach new international markets, but on condition that product quality indicators are met.