Grain export blockade deepens losses for Ukrainian dairy farms

Problems with grain exports through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports are worsening the financial situation of Ukrainian dairy farms, which have already been operating with unprofitable milk prices for more than six months. Previously, some farms could offset losses from livestock production with crop revenues, but this mechanism has now largely stopped working.

At one farm in Ukraine’s Cherkasy region, which combines livestock production with grain and oilseed farming, storage facilities are already filled with winter wheat. According to deputy director Mykola Makarenko, farmers are now being offered no more than UAH 6,500/t for grain, compared with around UAH 12,000/t previously, making sales at current prices unprofitable.

The farm plans to use part of its grain for its own compound feed production. However, livestock can consume only about half of the harvested crops due to feed ration requirements. The farm also plans to process sunflower seed, rapeseed and soybeans itself and sell higher-value products such as oil and oilcake.

Olena Zhupinas, deputy director general of the Association of Milk Producers, said the situation is being further aggravated by the sharp decline in grain’s purchasing power. In 2025, a farm needed to sell 4–5 tons of grain to buy 20 tons of diesel fuel, compared with almost 14 tons now. At the same time, milk prices remain unprofitable, while meat prices are no longer as attractive as before.

Russian strikes on retail storage infrastructure pose an additional risk to the dairy sector, potentially delaying payments from processors to farmers. The Association of Milk Producers believes the industry needs government support, as simultaneous pressure on revenues from milk, meat and crop production is significantly reducing farms’ ability to finance further production.

Tags: Ukraine, grain export, Milk, blocking ports