The import of butter in Ukraine soared by 103 times in the first quarter of the current year. According to a press-release of the Ukrainian Agricultural Confederation, forwarded to UNIAN, in the first quarter of 2009, on the whole, 6.9 thousand tons of butter and fats were imported in Ukraine, which is by 103 times more than an average showing of the period. The ratio of import in the total butter supply at the domestic market increased from 0.5% in 2008 to 40% this year.
“If the tendency keeps on, Ukraine will be pelted with imported butter, and domestic producers, at best, will have just to pack imported production”, believes Oleksander Yaroslavskiy, project chief of the Ukrainian Agricultural Confederation.
World prices on some dairy products have fallen to a historic minimum, and are expected to fall by another 10-15%. O.Yaroslavskiy noted that the volumes of milk supply to dairy plants have significantly trimmed. Thus, in the first quarter of 2009, the volume of milk supply reduced by 21% compared to the same period of the last year.
