Eight regions of Ukraine keep more than half of all cows: trends in livestock reduction

The livestock of cattle (cattle) in Ukraine continues to decline, and this applies most of all to households. As of November 1, 2024, 2.245 million cattle are kept in the industrial and household sectors, of which 1.233 million are cows. However, these figures are 7% lower compared to the same period last year.

As reported by the analyst of the Milk Producers Association, Georgy Kukhaleyshvili, the main share of animals (59%) remains in households, while industrial enterprises keep 41% of the livestock. However, the trend of reduction persists in the industrial sector: over the past year, the number of cows on dairy farms has decreased by 5.8 thousand heads (-2%).

In total, enterprises keep 918.5 thousand cattle, which is 0.5% less than last month. The number of cows in this sector is 375.3 thousand, having decreased by 600 heads per month (-0.2%). Compared to 2023, the industrial sector lost 6.4 thousand heads of cattle (-1%).

The situation in the household sector is even more complicated. Currently, there are 1.326 million heads of cattle, which is 3% less than the previous month. The number of cows decreased by 9 thousand heads (-1%) in October alone, and by 81.9 thousand heads (-10%) for the year. In total, over the past year, households have lost 157 thousand heads of cattle (-12%).

Despite the reduction, most cows are kept in the eight leading regions of Ukraine. Maintaining these regions as centers of livestock production is important for ensuring national milk and meat production.

Experts emphasize that the key tasks remain to support dairy farms, stimulate household farms, and introduce innovations in livestock farming. Without this, the trend towards reducing the number of cattle may deepen, which will negatively affect the country's food security.