Animal agriculture is in rapid decline in Ukraine, where experts believe most pig and cattle farms will have disappeared by 2025.
Official figures cited in report The Agri-Food Sector In Ukraine: Current situation and market outlook until 2025 reveal a dramatic decline in the industry.
The number of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats have all dropped since 1990. The report explained: “The main reason for this decrease was a strong drop in demand for animal products.”
A table from the State Service of Ukraine shows that the country had nearly 25 million cows in 1990, which fell to below 5 million by 2010.
The number of pigs similarly fell from nearly 20 million in 1990 to just above 7.5 million in 2010, while sheep and goats fell from around 8 million to roughly 2 million animals.
The reports foresees the current trends continuing, meaning the vast majority of animal agriculture will be a thing of the past by 2025.
It suggests the drastic fall in demand was driven in part by a fall in income per capita across Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the report expects production of crops to increase by 2025, replacing the fall in animal products.
The projections show a steady increase in soft wheat, barley, maize and oilseeds production over the period until 2025.
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