Ukraine’s egg production drops by 16%, UkrLandFarming blames NABU

Ukraine’s egg production during the first two months in 2021 dropped by 16.1% compared to the same period in 2020, according to the State Statistics Service.

The number of eggs collected in January-February 2021 totaled 2.03 billion, which includes 1.24 billion collected by agricultural enterprises (23.4% decline from last year) and 784 million (1% decline) by private households.

Producers struggled to look for cost-effective ways to raise flocks of chickens to remain profitable, according to Yuriy Kravchenko, an advisory chairman at one of Ukraine’s largest agricultural producer UkrLandFarming.

Kravchenko explained that animal feed — mostly made of grains combined with a mixture of small pebbles known as grit and various feed additives to improve digestibility — that accounts for roughly 75% of the cost of running egg farms got more expensive, while energy prices went up.

The businessman also blamed the National Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (NABU) “unlawful persecution”of Oleg Bakhmatyuk, owner of Avangardco, one of the largest egg producers in the country owned by UkrLandFarming, which led to a closure of 12 egg farms.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has refused to authorize an extradition request for Oleg Bakhmatyuk, UkrLandFarming owner and former banker. Bakhmatyuk is accused of embezzling a $49-million stabilization loan that the government gave to his bank in 2014, which he denies.

“(This unlawful persecution) caused reduced egg supply and inflated egg prices for each Ukrainian consumer,” Kravchenko told the Kyiv Post. 

In February, the price for a dozen eggs went up by 17.4% to Hr 32.3 (around $1.2) since the beginning of the year, according to the State Statistics Service’s data on average consumer prices for goods and services.

The leading egg-producing region over the two months was Kyiv Oblast — 522.3 million eggs (9.1% decline), followed by Khmelnytsky Oblast — 122.5 million (2.2% decline) and Cherkasy Oblast — 120.3 million (35.8% increase).

The lowest amount of eggs produces was reported in Luhansk Oblast — 10.8 million eggs (5.9% increase), while the second-lowest was in Odesa Oblast — 15.8 million (21.8% decline). 

The total number of eggs gathered in January-February 2020 was 2.41 million, recording a 6.6% increase compared with the same period in 2019.