​​​​​​Ukraine in January-June reduced imports of fresh, chilled, and frozen pork by 81.8%, to 5,700 tonnes compared to the same period last year, the Pig Breeders of Ukraine Association (ASU) has reported, citing customs statistics.

"Last year, there were many incentives to revive import activity: at the beginning of the year, there was a discrepancy between domestic and European quotations for pork, and in the second quarter, there were tax incentives for certain groups of importers. This was compounded by problems associated with the disruption of value chains, in particular, with the occupation of a large part of the country's territory," the association said.

According to the analysts, the current rates of pork imports are the lowest in the last six years, and they are significantly behind the previous year figures. So, in the first half of 2023, 5,700 tonnes of pig meat were brought to Ukraine from abroad, compared to more than 31,000 tonnes in the first half of 2022.

The main reason for the weakening of import activity in the industry association is the strengthening of quotations for pork in Europe, which remains the major supplier of this product to Ukraine.a

"Although negative price fluctuations occasionally occur on the EU pork market (in particular, they were recorded in May), they are not yet protracted and mostly remain high. This substantially limits the possibilities of Ukrainian importers and the list of commodity items that are "passing" for the domestic market meat," the association said.

At the same time, in June 2023, the price of an imported kilogram mainly fluctuated in the range of $2.28-2.99, and the weighted average was $2.56 per kg, while a year ago, the bulk of pork imports came at $1.89-2.55 per kg or an average of $2.21 per kg.

"Recently, mainly low-budget raw materials have been coming from abroad, which practically does not compete with domestic chilled pork, while import volumes remain quite modest, despite their increase in June," the association said.