The Ukrainian Dairy Producers Union intends to join the European Dairy Association in 2024, hoping that this step will lay the foundation for further commercial expansion, DairyGlobal reports.

March 2024!

According to a cooperation memorandum, the Ukrainian organization intends to formalize it with the European Dairy Association in March 2024. The parties intend to "demonstrate unity and a common position regarding working in the European dairy product market," said the Ukrainian union in a statement.

"Despite the current difficult conditions, the Ukrainian dairy business in the medium term sees itself as part of the European dairy product 'family.' A common vision and future are important," commented Arsen Didur, the executive director of the Ukrainian union.

Ukrainian dairy companies want to understand how the dairy business works in Europe, what regulatory requirements dairy companies need to comply with, and what it entails to work in a single European dairy product market.

"We also need to convey to European organizations and governments the specifics of the activities of our Ukrainian companies and express the main objective: integration into the EU must be prepared by both parties and must benefit both European and Ukrainian businesses," Didur said.

Millions of tons of milk for European markets

Currently, Ukrainian dairy companies have only realized 10-15% of their export potential, said Valentin Zaporoshchuk, the chairman of the supervisory board of the Ichnyansky milk canning factory.

Ukraine needs to increase industrial milk production to at least 5 million tons per year from the current 2.7 million tons, said Vadim Chagarovsky, the head of the Ukrainian Union.

This would require investments of around 3 billion euros, and the Ukrainian dairy industry hopes that European dairy companies can participate in the future industry reconstruction program, he added.

Shared values

Ukrainian dairy companies believe they are ready to operate as part of the European dairy industry.

"We have a single strategy and vision for all legislative initiatives being considered in Europe today. We constantly exchange documents and information and understand what's happening in the European market thanks to our colleagues at the European Dairy Association. Such cooperation allows us to navigate the European space," Zaporoshchuk said.

There are already successful examples of how the Ukrainian and European dairy industries could jointly address issues, Zaporoshchuk said, citing the crisis that began earlier this year.

In this regard, Polish regulatory authorities were planning to cut half of Ukrainian dairy imports into the country, but a joint appeal by Ukrainian and Polish dairy companies prevented this from happening. (Photo: Freepik)