In 2025, Ukrainians faced a significant rise in pork prices. Since the beginning of the year, prices for this type of meat have not dropped below 250 hryvnias per kilogram, which puts considerable pressure on the purchasing power of the population.
This is reported by Finway
Price Dynamics and Main Reasons for Increases
In the first half of 2024, a kilogram of chilled pork in supermarkets cost less than 200 hryvnias. However, by autumn, the price exceeded this mark, and in June 2025, it reached 253.2 hryvnias per kilogram. This is 32% higher than in June 2024, when the price was 191.9 hryvnias.
“The main factor for the price increase was the rise in procurement prices for live weight pigs,” reported specialists from the Association of “Pork Producers of Ukraine.”
In 2024, procurement prices dropped to 52-60 hryvnias per kilogram due to excess supply and weak demand, which corresponded to the levels of 2022. However, in 2025, the procurement price jumped to 92.5-93.5 hryvnias and continued to rise, affecting the final prices for consumers.
Production, Factors of Reduction, and Seasonal Impact
The market is also affected by the reduction in domestic production. According to preliminary estimates, production volumes decreased by 11% compared to last year, with the industrial sector, which accounts for over half of the market, experiencing a reduction exceeding 15%.
Analysts explain that this is due to a decrease in livestock numbers in both private farms and industrial complexes. A prolonged stagnation in small-scale pig farming, lasting over a decade, the consequences of hostilities in the east, economic uncertainty, and outbreaks of African swine fever have led to a reduction in production.
The contraction of some enterprises became inevitable due to a combination of falling procurement prices and rising costs, especially for feed. Seasonal factors also play a role: during hot periods, the average weight of animals decreases, slowing down fattening and affecting the final meat supply.
Processing enterprises are recording a reduction in the volumes of live weight commercial pork, forcing them to either reduce batches or postpone product sales deadlines.
Despite the price increases, this process only partially compensates for last year’s decline in meat prices against the backdrop of overall food price increases.
A similar trend is observed in other market segments. In the first half of 2025, chicken prices rose by almost 30%, and the price of chicken fillet equaled that of pork semi-finished products such as brisket, thigh, shoulder, or goulash.