Import of meat breaks records in Ukraine

In the first quarter of 2018, Ukraine demonstrated record import rates for meat. It was stated by the international consultant FAO, the analyst of agricultural markets Andriy Pankratov on his Facebook page, writes Agro-Center.

According to the expert, imports were the largest in the last 5 years (for pork – for 4 years). In fact, imports of pork have added 171% compared to the first quarter of last year, poultry meat – 26%, byproducts – 44%, seagrass – 58%. The import of beef was negligible, and the import of other types of meat is almost absent.

An increase in imports contributed to last year’s rise in prices for meat at the domestic market, explains Pankratov. This happened in the second half of last year, but now these “doors” are still open.

Fluctuations in Ukrainian and European prices (almost all imports are now from the EU, so their prices are important for us) were not significant starting from the end of 2017 in order to change the situation. Only in March, prices in the EU went up. However, we have at the same time strengthened the hryvnia and imports were still possible.

In recent weeks, prices for pork in the EU have somewhat stabilized, but it is worth mentioning the recent ban on imports of American pork products by China. It can contribute to rising prices in Europe and then we will have two options: either Ukrainian prices will not change and imports will slow down, or our prices will go up, and imports will continue.

“Taking to account a decline in the production of pork, which we have, and the desire of producers to include a higher cost in the price, the second option looks more likely,” says the analyst.

The situation with chicken is slightly different:

“The rise in prices in the EU has been taking place for several weeks. Things are different in our country. The production of chicken meat in our country is increasing, consumers are not yet ready to show an increased demand, accustomed to the fact that the chicken already occupies a large share in their protein diet. Therefore, the scenario of slowing down imports and stable prices is more likely in this segment of the market,” summed up Pankratov.