Milk production growth should be stimulated, dairy cattle breeding should not be subsidized, says expert

Kyiv, November 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – It would be more efficient to stimulate milk production under the present subsidizing scheme than subsidizing dairy cattle breeding, according to an analyst of the AAA consulting agency, Maria Kolesnik.

"We could increase milk production by at least two times with the number of cattle that we have today. We should stimulate production and its efficiency," she said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on November 12 in Kyiv, where the first survey of the heads of dairy enterprises in Ukraine was presented.

Kolesnik said that the stimulation per cow could lead to a fall in the number of cattle, as was seen over the past years, and a fall in the volume of milk on the Ukrainian market.

In turn, the co-chairman of the Business Council of Ukraine organization, Mykhailo Sokolov, said that if the present mechanism were retained, nothing would depend on the budget.

"Thus, funds were not sent to the budget, and no problem of the budget influence the said funds. Another problem is that under a new scheme the funds are to be sent to a special fund and be distributed per cow," he said.

According to the survey, 62% of milk producers oppose the transfer to the subsidizing of cattle breeding, while 18% support the idea.

A total of 21% of respondents did not know about the state subsidy system, while 55% had heard about it, but had no opinion about it.

The survey showed that 55% of respondents prefer to receive subsidies per liter of milk, while 25% preferred subsidies paid per cow.

The survey also showed that the leaders in efficiency growth are smallest companies (up to 50 cows), which increased milking per cow by 507 liters per year, and the largest companies (up to 700 cows), where milling rose by 920 liters.

According to the survey, the lowest efficiency is at companies with 50-300 cows. Sokolov said that 77% respondents believe that they could increase milking without increasing the number of cows.

The survey was conducted from October 29 to November 4 by the Social Monitoring center under an order of the Dilova Rada Ukrainy nongovernmental organization. A total of 100 respondents were polled from various regions of Ukraine.