Ukraine reports increase in poultry exports

The total volume of poultry meat exports from Ukraine between January and August 2011 increased one and a half times to 35,100t, according to official figures by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The export volume nearly equals the volume of imports, which fell 70% from the previous year to 37,100t.

The rate of increase in export supplies can be attributed to the 20% increase in export prices compared with 2010 prices.

The export volume, however, is much lower than originally predicted by the Ministry of Agriculture at the beginning of the year, which estimated that imports for the first seven months of 2011 will reach 45,000t, while total exports by the end of the year will reach 70,000t.

According to official statistics, the numbers of poultry livestock in Ukraine increased by 12%,compared with the same period of 2010.

Preliminary estimates indicate that by the end of the year, the total number of poultry livestock in Ukraine will be about 210 million heads, compared to 181 million heads in early 2010.