Ukraine’s ambition to become a major exporter of chicken-meat could be realised, given the following. First, there has been a reduction of chicken-meat production in Europe. Experts explain that in Europe it has become more expensive to rear chickens. In addition, much of Europe is afflicted by a lack of free land, a high level of poultry sickness, and the increasing popularity of bio-fuel. Bio-fuel is made of corn, which is the main ingredient of mixed fodder, and this rising demand for corn has raised its price. Thus Ukraine has a good opportunity to fill this export niche, due to the availability of land, less strict ecological legislation, and the production of wheat, the main source of raw material for the production of feed.
The consumption of chickens in the internal market is 16.5kg per person annually, compared to 20kg in Europe, and 50kg in the US. Domestic manufacturers hope to increase the consumption to 26kg per person in 2008.
Roughly 1m turkeys were reared in Ukraine last year, compared to 32m in Germany and 30m in Poland. The turkey market shows a 100% growth each year, an increase grounded on several factors. Firstly, the internal market is not crowded and the competition is not tight. The annual profitability never falls lower than 20%, despite the prices for fuel and forage. Another important thing is that in Europe the increase in turkey production has stopped, and in some countries a decrease has been noticed. Experts explain that today an average price for 1kg of live turkey is €1.32, but the cost of production is €1.28. In Ukraine, though, the production cost could be HRN10.5 (€1.21) with an average sale price of HRN13 (€1.49).
In Ukraine, with the lower cost of production, there is considerable potential for a gradual increase in the volume of production.
The pork market in Ukraine receives little state support. With the increase of cereal prices, the amount of livestock has decreased and many pork farms are now on sale. Only pork farms with their own forage sources and slaughter workshops have remained stable. This has led to an increase in demand for pork meat, so the profitability of big pork farms remains high.
The inland and coastal waters of Ukraine are no less rich than its lands. Anchovies and sprat are the most populous varieties. In recent years the potential sprat catch has averaged about 45,000 tonnes. The actual catch has been much lower. This is explained by the absence of a stable distribution network and by the lack of necessary storage facilities.
