However, the initiative of the industry leaders has not yet been supported by all milk processing enterprises in the country.
The Association of Milk Producers, Processors and Deliverers “Vitalact” notified the governmental structures about the reduction of wholesale demand prices for dairy raw materials at the beginning of the last month of 2025. In an official letter, the association’s executive chairman Alexandru Parabina said that milk processors are aware that “this measure causes significant damage to local milk producers,” but do not want “to be accused of lack of patriotism or disrespect for the work” of cattle breeders. Simply, “a critical situation has developed that directly threatens the stability of the entire dairy farming sector in Moldova”.
In particular, the message of the association points to the significant reduction of purchase prices of dairy raw materials in the European Union countries, which became a consequence of the decrease in consumer demand for dairy products. Accordingly, the raw milk imported to Moldova (within the duty-free Euro-quota –LP note ) “has become cheaper than the milk produced in Moldova”. And this, in turn, “provokes a catastrophic imbalance of prices, forcing processors to buy cheap imported dairy raw materials in order to maintain the competitiveness of their own dairy products”.
In this regard, the heads of dairy factories in Moldova note that in summer and early fall of last year, the wholesale price for butter in some EU countries averaged 8 euros/kg, and in winter it dropped to 4.5 euros/kg. At this price level, even taking into account high costs for transportation and other logistics, European butter becomes quite competitive on the Moldovan market.
This conclusion is all the more true for butter and other dairy products produced in Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian Association of Milk Producers, in December on the market of this country the average price for milk of the first grade amounted to 14.30 UAH/kg without VAT, which is 1 UAH/kg lower in comparison with the price level in the previous month. The minimum price in farms amounted to UAH 14.00/kg, the maximum – UAH 14.50/kg. According to the association’s analyst Georgiy Kukhyashvili, in January in Ukraine the reduction of purchase prices continues against the background of significant surplus of dairy raw materials, falling prices for butter, problems with the realization of finished products on the domestic and export market.
About 49% of dairy raw materials received for processing in Ukraine are used for butter production. For comparison, in the EU milk processing industry only 29% of raw milk is used to make butter. Therefore, price fluctuations for this exchange-traded commodity have a significant impact on purchase prices in Ukraine. “In the short term, there are risks not only of further reduction of purchase prices by more than 50 kopecks/kg, but also of reduction of milk procurement by plants and processing volumes. Milk processing companies do not know how to get rid of surplus finished products, and the profitability of production of most products is unprofitable, except for cheese,” summarizes Giorgi Kukhiashvili.
In turn, Caroline Linte, Executive Director of the Patronal Association of Milk and Dairy Products Producers Lapte states that during the winter period the import of raw milk and dairy products from Ukraine to Moldova (in free trade mode) has significantly increased. This observation correlates well with the fact that, in particular, Ukrainian butter is almost constantly sold at discounted prices in Moldovan retailers. This trend is periodically picked up by Moldovan producers of this and other dairy products. Probably, they are forced to do so.
At the same time, not all Moldovan dairy processing enterprises in December-January went for reduction of purchase prices for dairy raw materials and selling (factory) prices for finished dairy products. Probably, also for this reason, the average price for dairy raw materials in Moldova has not yet fallen below the fall range of 8-9 lei/kg (without VAT). At the same time, it should be reminded that usually the purchase prices for raw milk in the cold season are higher than in the warm season.
