The number of cattle (cattle) in Ukraine as of 1 June 2025 decreased by 8 per cent year-on-year, mainly due to a decrease in the number of animals in the homestead sector, the Association of Milk Producers (AMP) has reported, citing data from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
The industry association noted that as of 1 June 2025, the homestead and industrial sector of Ukraine contained 2.169 million cattle, including 1.149 million cows, which is 10,000 head (-0.5%) and 3.9,000 head (-0.3%) less than on 1 May 2025, and 89,000 head (-8%) and 104,000 head (-8%) less than on 1 June 2024. About 42% of animals are kept in industrial enterprises and 58% in household farms.
At the same time, the industrial sector contains 918.6 thousand head of cattle, which is 3 thousand head less (-0.3%) against 1 May 2025. The number of cows is 382.3 thousand cows and decreased by 100 heads (-0.03%) over the last month. Over the last year, the number of cattle in businesses decreased by 1 thousand head (-0.1%), but the number of cows increased by 3.7 thousand head (+1%).
There are 1.25 million head of cattle in the household sector, which is 7 thousand head less (-1%) compared to 1 May 2025. The number of cows in household farms as of 1 June 2025 was 767.1 thousand head, which is 4 thousand head less (-0.5%) than a month ago. Over the past year, the number of cattle in household farms has decreased by 188 thousand heads (-13%), while the number of cows has decreased by 107 thousand heads (-12%).
“The reduction in the number of cattle is a long-standing problem in Ukraine due to the lack of an effective state programme to support dairy cattle breeding. The war has only aggravated the situation. There are prerequisites for relocation of farms from Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy oblasts to other regions of Ukraine in conditions of intensified Russian missile and bombing attacks on border and frontline settlements. Farmers will be able to transport only a part of the livestock, as most farms in Ukraine were built in the 70s-80s and they no longer meet the requirements for keeping animals. Lack of premises suitable for keeping cows creates prerequisites for further reduction of livestock,” explained AVM analyst Giorgi Kukhaleishvili.
The Association noted that besides the frontline regions, the number of cattle has decreased in agricultural enterprises of Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi regions, which is probably due to the fact that they are working on their efficiency and selling unproductive cows.
Market uncertainty and lower purchase prices for raw milk do not favour an increase in the number of cows in the industrial sector, and farmers are focused on reducing production costs, AVM said.
In addition, the businessless association drew attention to the fact that many farmers are not investing in increasing the number of cows during the war and are lacking working capital. AVM cited the results of the study “Ukraine: the impact of the war on the profitability of agricultural production”, conducted by UCAB, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy with the support of GFDRR, according to which the production costs of farmers are growing faster than the prices of finished products due to the rising cost of fodder, the cost of electricity, the devaluation of the hryvnia and the decline in the purchasing power of the population.
“The situation with FMD in Hungary and Slovakia, managed to localise, which allowed to remove most restrictions and resume trade. No further spread of the disease has been recorded so far, which gives grounds for cautious optimism. However, biosecurity measures at MTFs are of great importance to prevent the spread of the disease in Ukraine,” AVM summarised.