CURRENT STATE AND TRENDS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WINE INDUSTRY IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Viticulture and winemaking are traditional and highly profitable industries in the agricultural sector of Ukraine. The wine industry in Ukraine has considerable potential, but through the rapid changes in both the economic and political situation in the country over the past five years, the dynamics of wine production and sales has deteriorated significantly, although the problems of the wine industry have been studied by many domestic scientists, the issue of tracking the situation remains relevant in the industry, identifying new trends in the development of the industry and obstacles to this development. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state and dynamics of the development of the wine industry in Ukraine, to identify industry problems and ways to solve them. The dynamics and structure of wine production in Ukraine for the period 2013-2018 are analyzed. It is shown that after a sharp deterioration of the situation in the industry in 2014, wine production in the industry gradually began to grow, but in 2017 there was again a decrease in production volumes. The main players in the markets of sparkling and still wines are identified and changes in the distribution of market shares between producers of still wines for the period 2014-2017 are analyzed. Discovered external and internal factors hindering the development of the industry at the present stage. Thus, high excise taxes amid a decrease in the purchasing power of target markets lead to a decrease in demand for wine products in the domestic market. This does not apply only to table wines, the excise tax on which is not increased. At the same time, competition from foreign wine producers is intensifying. An analysis of the dynamics of exports and imports of wine products showed that although Ukrainian wine producers are gradually increasing their exports and expanding the geography of export supplies, wine imports still significantly exceed exports. The positive changes in the industry include the expansion of areas under vineyards by some manufacturers.Thus, the wine-making industry of Ukraine is gradually recovering after the collapse in 2014, but there are a number of problems that impede the dynamic development of the industry. The solution of these problems requires government support, in particular, the establishment of a zero excise tax rate for sparkling, dry and other types of wine, production technology that does not involve the use of ethyl alcohol, and support for winemakers in promoting domestic wines abroad, which will facilitate the development of new markets.