REUTERS
Revenue from Ukrainian dairy exports fell in January-September 2018 due to a drop in prices of creamery butter and dried milk on global markets.
Dairy food exports from Ukraine in September 2018 shrank by 40% year-over-year (y-o-y), to US$18.3 million, which was the lowest rate ever reported.
"A significant drop in the prices of creamery butter and powdered milk on the world market led to the fact that Ukraine had the lowest export revenue from the sale of dairy products in September, namely $18.3 million (21.8% down from August 2018 and 40% down y-o-y)," the Milk Producers Association's press service said in a statement on October 8.
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Experts say dried milk and creamery butter exports that accounted for the lion's share of revenue in 2017 fell most (by 48.5% and 50.2%, respectively).
Over the nine months of 2018, milk and cream exports totaled 15,500 tonnes, which was 86.6% up y-o-y. Their shipments in monetary terms stood at $11 million, which was 90.3% up y-o-y. Key sales markets were Moldova, accounting for 25.1% of all supplies, Libya (20.8%), and Poland (23%).
Ukraine received $48 million in revenue from exports of condensed milk and cream in January-September 2018, which was 24.6% down y-o-y. Exports of these products in physical terms were estimated at 29,000 tonnes, which was 21.5% down y-o-y. Noteworthy, shipments of condensed milk and cream to Bangladesh totaled $7.5 million, while those to Kazakhstan stood at $6 million.
At the same time, exports of fermented milk products in January-September 2018 increased most, to $6.5 million, which was 120% up y-o-y. These exports in physical terms totaled 4,000 tonnes, which was 1.5 times (49.7%) up y-o-y. Major buyers of Ukrainian fermented milk were Kazakhstan ($6 million) and Moldova ($1.8 million).
Over the period under review, milk whey exports fell by 7.5% y-o-y, to 23,500 tonnes. Its exports in monetary terms stood at $15.8 million, which was 20.4% down y-o-y, experts said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, milk output in Ukraine in 2017 totaled 950,000 tonnes, which was 2% up from 2016, according to the State Statistics Service.