UKRAINE-RISE IN MEAT PRICES.
Pork price is getting up in Ukraine for meat processors. The meat price on hoof now totals around UAH 20 per kg (USD 1 - UAH 7.7).
Late in 2008 (in peak hours for pre-holiday meat and meat products sales) the price did not exceed UAH 18. Experts say the price hikes because of a raw meat deficit on the market. According to expert Yelyzaveta Sviatkivska from the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business, on January 1 Ukraine returned to the practice of meat imports licensing.
Just because of that, only few importing companies drew up the necessary documents. As a result - actually full lack of offer for the import pork at the Ukrainian market. The meat processors had earlier compensated insufficient offer of domestic meat purchasing cheap import meat.
This held a price jump for Ukraine’s meat and caused discontent from cattle-breeders. Another problem for the meat processors was reduction in consumer demand that also affects the final price for meat and sausage products.
According to Denys Paramonov, the Director of the Saltovsky Meat-Packing Factory, due to hryvnia’s price reduction, the import raw meat grew in price by 60% with meat processors raising the price by 15-20%.
A sales slowdown makes meat processors reduce the production volumes. The production output slowdown (for factories) totals 20% to 50%, the market players say.
