Despite the numerous challenges of the past year, 63% of the surveyed pig producers (94 enterprises with a total of 1.4 million pigs) maintained their livestock at the pre-war level. 19 market operators (more than 350 thousand pigs) were forced to reduce their livestock: the total number of pigs in this group of enterprises decreased by almost 200 thousand pigs, or by more than a third on average. At the same time, one in three of these enterprises reduced the number of pigs kept by more than 50%. At the same time, one in five pig farms (32 enterprises with about 818 thousand pigs) increased the number of pigs from 8% to more than 60% over the past year. Together, they increased the number of pigs by 120 thousand or 17% compared to the pre-war period.
Unfortunately, this increase in production capacity is not enough to cover both the direct losses of the industry as a result of hostilities and occupation and the forced reduction mentioned earlier. These losses should also include the postponement of further development due to the risks of war, as 43% of respondents (64 respondents) were forced to «freeze» their projects in 2022.
Nevertheless, a number of operators did not put growth on hold: 19 pig farms (more than 0.7 million heads) were able to implement their plans in full, and another 37 operators (more than 1.1 million heads) partially implemented their plans.
In particular, in addition to increasing the number of livestock, operators directed their efforts and finances to
— completion of construction of production facilities and infrastructure (15 enterprises, about 0.75 million heads)
— modernization and/or technical re-equipment (30 enterprises, more than 0.7 million heads);
— genetics renewal and/or livestock repopulation (8 enterprises, over 90 thousand heads);
— introduction of new technological solutions and improvement of production performance (5 enterprises, 41 thousand).
In addition, some players made a number of personnel decisions, started moving towards vertical integration and building a closed production cycle.
As for the plans for 2023, 42 pig farms (holding more than 1.5 million head or about 49% of the estimated commercial pig population) plan to increase production capacity. Thus, a number of operators (8 pig farms, more than 130 thousand heads) plan to increase the breeding stock, both at the expense of their own animals and imported livestock, so the expected increase in the number of main sows will be from 6 thousand heads. In addition, with the successful occupancy of ready-made production facilities, the planned increase in the total number of pigs will be 50 thousand.
In 2023, other enterprises (9 pig farms with a total population of more than 0.5 million head) are preparing the ground for further development - they are going to expand production capacity through construction and/or reconstruction. Another dozen enterprises (mostly small, with a total population of about 80 thousand head) are currently declaring their readiness to develop, but have not yet announced specific plans.
Another 22 enterprises (15% of the sample, about 0.3 million heads or 15% of the commercial livestock) will develop by improving production and economic performance.
In particular, the majority of respondents (13 operators, about 200 thousand heads in total) expect appropriate changes from the renewal of production equipment, installation of modernized and/or automated production systems. Another 4 pig farms expect to improve their performance due to genetics upgrades, and the same number - due to improved feeding quality, new technological solutions and work with staff.
Among the main barriers to development, operators highlight the risks associated with the war, epizootic risks due to the possibility of ASF spread, rising prices for inputs, personnel problems due to staff mobilization and regulatory barriers (lack of state support, bureaucratic barriers), unpredictable market situation, etc.
The Association Ukrainian Pig Breeders is a non-profit, voluntary organization founded by domestic pork producers. The main goals of the association are to represent and protect the rights and interests of the association's farms, promote the development and implementation of new technologies for efficient pork production, expand sales markets, and protect the domestic market.