Ukrainian cheeses not in trend, cheap imports dominate

December is traditionally considered one of the most successful months for Ukrainian cheese producers in terms of sales, but this year not all companies in the industry can boast of positive dynamics.

This was announced by the analytical agency Infagro, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

The report states that cheese consumption in Ukraine has increased, but the main growth was in imported products.

Experts explain this trend by the significant price advantage of European cheeses.

Importers purchase products in EU countries much cheaper than they are produced in Ukraine, and, according to forecasts, their cost will not increase in the near future.

In November, cheese imports to Ukraine increased, although not as much as analysts predicted.

They were imported by 10% more compared to October.

Imports of "white" cheeses increased by 4%, and imports of processed cheeses decreased by 18%.

It is expected that more active growth in imports will occur in December, as it was last year.

Experts note that cheese consumption in Ukraine has not yet recovered to pre-war levels, and this makes competition difficult for national producers.

According to estimates, in 2025, sales of semi-hard cheeses on the domestic market will be 17% less than in 2021.

At the same time, the average Ukrainian, as before the war, consumes about 2 kg of such cheese per year, and about a quarter of this volume is European-made cheeses.

Exports of semi-hard cheeses from Ukraine remain half as small as imports.

It is noted that export prices exceed import prices.

Exports of processed cheese products also sharply decreased in November - to the lowest level since the beginning of the year.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in January-July of this year, cheese imports increased by 14.6% to 22,700 tons compared to the same period in 2024.