Number of cattle in Ukraine drops by 8% over the year, cows - by 9% - analysts
In the household and industrial sector of Ukraine as of August 1, 2025, 2 million 151,500 heads of cattle are kept, which is 18,000 heads (-0.8%) less than a month ago and 8% less than a year ago, the Milk Producers Association reported, citing State Statistics Service data.
The industry association noted that the number of cows is currently 1.14 million, which is 5,800 heads (-0.5%) less than at the beginning of July this year and 9% less than a year ago. About 43% of animals are kept at industrial enterprises, and 57% - in households.
In the industrial sector, 923,500 heads of cattle are kept, which is 2,000 heads more (+0.2%) compared to July 1, 2025. The number of cows is 381,600 and has decreased by 500 heads (-0.1%) over the last month. Over the last year, the number of cattle at enterprises has decreased by 1,700 heads (-0.18%), but the number of cows has increased by 1,400 heads (+0.4%).
There are 1.228 million heads of cattle in the household sector, which is 20,000 heads less (-1.6%) compared to the data a month ago. The number of cows in households as of the beginning of August 2025 was 758,800 heads, which is 5,000 heads less (-0.7%) than a month ago. Over the last year, the number of cattle in households has decreased by 192,000 heads (-14%), and the number of cows has decreased by 108,000 heads (-12%).
Analyst Georgy Kukhaleyshvili, whose words are quoted in the report, noted that the reduction of cattle population is a long-standing problem in Ukraine due to the lack of an effective state program to support dairy farming, and the war has only worsened the situation. Currently, a sharp reduction in livestock in the East and South is underway, agricultural enterprises are relocating cows from Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions to safer regions of western and central Ukraine in the context of increased Russian missile and bomb attacks on border and frontline settlements, the expert comments on the situation.
"Most farms in Ukraine were built in the 1970s and 1980s, and they no longer meet the requirements for keeping animals. The lack of premises suitable for keeping cows creates the prerequisites for a further reduction in the livestock. Many farmers do not invest in increasing the number of cows during the war, as they experience a shortage of working capital," the industry association noted. The association said that according to the study "Ukraine: the impact of war on the profitability of agricultural production," conducted by the Ukrainian Agrarian Business Club and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy with the support of the Global Fund for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery farmers' production costs due to rising prices for feed and electricity, as well as due to the devaluation of the hryvnia and a decrease in the purchasing power of the population, are growing faster than prices for finished products.
