Ukrainians eat only half of the norm of dairy products, meat and fish

Submitted by bashun on Wed, 06/06/2018 - 15:25

Ukrainians consume only 45-60% of the required norm of dairy, meat and fish products. This was stated in an interview with the publication "Accents" by the vice president of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences Mykhailo Hladii, AgroRolit.com. reports.

According to him, the structure and quality of nutrition of Ukrainians is deteriorating because of the ongoing crisis in livestock. Therefore, 75% of the total volume of milk is produced by the population's households, which are objectively unable to provide high manufacturability of production. The quality of products is much lower than European standards. A similar situation is in sheep breeding, where the population contains 74% of the livestock. Lamb per capita is produced only 30% of the norm of the Ministry of Health.

"Due to the lack of infrastructure of processing enterprises, the market does not receive the necessary lots for sale, the loss of the industry reaches 73%, the production of pork is unprofitable because of outdated technologies and the spread of infectious diseases. The meat deficit is about 640,000 tons,", says Mykhailo Hladii.

In addition, according to him, the state loses fishing, rabbit breeding, beekeeping and fur farming. These areas were preserved mainly in personal peasant holdings. The situation is somewhat better in poultry farming, however the industry remains vulnerable and import-dependent.

One of the factors of deepening the crisis in livestock, according to the scientist, is the rapid decrease in the area of fodder crops. Now they occupy 7% of agricultural land. In the early 1990s, the figure reached 40%.

"So, the catastrophic decline in the number of cattle is almost 7 times in recent decades and that is a logical result," adds the vice-president of the National Academy of Sciences.

He thinks that the Strategy of Livestock Development will change the situation for the period until 2030. The document, developed with the participation of the scientific academy, is under consideration by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

 

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