Record prices hike projected in Ukraine
Speaking at an industry press conference, the president of the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine Ivan Tomic said: “The situation in the market of feed grains changes daily. Feed prices [for the last couple of month] have already gone up by 30-35% and, this month, they may jump by an additional 60%. In connection with this, meat will become more 10-20% expensive until the end of the year.”
He said pork prices are expected to rise by around 15-25% and chicken by about 10%, while price rises for beef would be a more “moderate” 7-8%.
Since August, the price of all kinds of meat in the country has already risen in average of 7-8% or UAH3-5/kg, according to official figures from the Ministry of Economical Development of Ukraine.
A statement said: “Wholesale prices for beef have increased for the first month of autumn to an average of UAH5/kg (US$0.60) to UAH 47/kg (US$5.75). The cost of pork has not risen as sharply – in the wholesale market, it currently stands at an average of UAH33/kg (US$4), a rise of UAH3 (US$0.36) from the level of September.”
Ukraine is preparing for parliamentary elections on 28 October and Tomic reckons the current government cannot allow any further sharp rise in meat prices, as these have already increased to record levels, and further growth could undermine the popularity of the ruling party.
“The current authorities are deliberately holding back the rise in prices, but after the election this chain will break,” said Tomic. He also predicted that, at the beginning of next year, prices will reach a “critical level”, with meat costs growing by almost 30%.
