The main trends in the development of egg poultry farming in Ukraine

Abstract

Poultry breeding in the egg sector belongs to the strategically important areas of livestock production in Ukraine and many countries worldwide. In addition, it affects the country's food security by filling the market with valuable food products. Eggs are one of the leading export products of livestock production in Ukraine. However, during the studied period, there was a decline in the production and economic potential of poultry farming in the egg sector, negatively affecting export opportunities. The article presents the results of a study of the main trends in the development of egg production in Ukraine. An economic analysis of the dynamics of egg production in enterprises and households in the regions of Ukraine was carried out. The importance of the influence and the specific weight in forming the offer of eggs on the regional markets were determined. The leading indicators of the balance of eggs in Ukraine were studied. An analysis of the fund of egg consumption by regions of Ukraine was carried out. The promising central areas for developing poultry farming in the egg direction are substantiated, considering the difference between the volume of egg production and the consumption fund in Ukraine. The main negative factors of the decline in the volume of egg production in agricultural enterprises and households have been established. The structure of egg production by regions of Ukraine was determined. The development of small organizational forms of business in poultry farming, in particular, farms based on households and personal peasant farms to minimize risks, reduce logistics costs, develop the clean competition, and improve the balance between supply and demand in regional markets, is substantiated. According to the results of the study, it was established that the production of eggs in Ukraine for 2010–2021 decreased by 17%. The most significant decline occurred in 2021 - by 13% compared to the previous year, due to the increase in costs for feed, energy sources, and price disparity, which caused a decrease in production profitability and investment interest among many industrial producers. In 2022, the drop in egg production was exacerbated by active hostilities that covered the eastern, most of the southern and northern regions of Ukraine, which led to the loss of production capacity, the blockade of logistics flows, and the reduction of the productive poultry population in many local enterprises. The determined set of factors caused a sharp increase in egg prices in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2022, which will affect the further decrease of the consumption fund.