PHOTO: MHP
PHOTO: ODESSA SEA PORT
MARKET ▶▶▶
The Russian invasion tests the Ukraine feed industry
Despite facing the horrors of war, Ukraine’s feed producers have managed to rebound from the first shock and maintain operations where possible.
BY MARIEKE PLOEGMAKERS R
Ukraine grain production is hampered by minefields.
ussia’s invasion of Ukraine has already destroyed bil- lions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure, blocked commodity exports from ports in the Azov-Black Sea basin, and displaced more than 12 million peo-
ple. The World Bank predicts that the war will cause Ukraine’s economy to shrink by 45% this year. And, as the hostilities gain pace in the eastern regions, the war shows no signs of ending. The feed industry, like all agriculture in Ukraine, suffered as a result of the Russian invasion, said Svitlana Lytvyn, analyst at Ukraine Agribusiness Club (UCAB). “Fortunately, there are no reports of physical destruction of large feed factories yet,” Lytvyn said, adding that nonetheless all feed mills in the
territories occupied by Russian forces were affected by dis- rupted logistics, as technically they were cut off their suppli- ers and customers in the rest of the country. There are already examples where, finding themselves in isolation, livestock businesses have folded. “Having no opportunity to produce or purchase feed, one of the largest egg farms in Ukraine, Chernobaev, stopped operations,” Lytvyn said. Chernobaev, Europe’s largest egg farm, has lost 4 million hens due to the lack of feed in April, Avangard, the managing com- pany reported. The workers tried to organise the delivery of feed, but trucks with freight were shelled so, to ensure the safety of drivers, supplies were stopped. There is no informa- tion on how the farm is operating now, as it is located deep in occupied territory. Before, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 Avangard was ranked second in the list of the world’s largest egg producers. In April, Avangard reported that the Russian aggression had caused significant losses in production capacity, with several key egg farms being shut down and destroyed, while at some operational farms the birds were left without feed and thus “condemned to death.” The overall financial losses the compa- ny sustained reached 1.5 billion hryvnias (US$ 51 million), Avangard said. As of late May, Russia had occupied nearly 20% of Ukrainian
32 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 30, No. 5, 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
