Ukraine-Switzerland: 10 years of partnership in the dairy sector

10 years ago, Switzerland took on commitments to promote the strengthening of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in Ukraine, since then providing systematic technical support. After the start of the full-scale war, this support continued – 446 farms in affected regions received kits to ensure hygienic milk production.

Within the framework of cooperation, the regulatory framework was also updated, the IT platform Dairy Module was created, laboratory infrastructure was modernised, professional training of specialists was strengthened, and modern control mechanisms were introduced.

Thanks to this, Ukrainian dairy products have achieved significant progress in improving quality, safety, and competitiveness, while Ukraine continues to demonstrate substantial progress in the production and export of value-added dairy products.

With the support of Switzerland and the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office, Ukrainian companies presented their products for the first time at leading international exhibitions – ANUGA, SIAL, GULFOOD. Over three years, Ukrainian cheesemakers participated in the World Cheese Awards competition, winning 34 international awards. Switzerland also supports local events, including ProCheese Awards and the Lviv Taste Fair.

“Partnership between Ukraine and Switzerland has become an important factor in restoring the potential of the dairy industry. We highly value the comprehensive approach of our partners, which covers not only legislative changes, but also support for industry representatives – small and medium-sized businesses, creating trade opportunities for craft cheesemakers, which in turn has become the foundation of the European future for the Ukrainian dairy sector,” noted Taras Vysotskyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.

On the eve of the anniversary, on 16 October, a conference was held in Kyiv where the results of cooperation were summed up. Among the key achievements – the implementation of the Raw Milk Control Programme, which ensures monitoring of the quality and safety of products entering processing at a level equivalent to European standards. If in 2015 only 7% of milk met the Extra class, now – already 55%.

Today, the Programme covers more than 1,000 milk producers, 54 laboratories, more than 500 sampling delegates, and more than 200 inspectors.

The discussion also covered future cooperation plans. According to Marco Kräuchi – programme manager and coordinator of the organic division in the trade promotion department of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) – Switzerland attaches strategic importance to the reconstruction, reforms, and sustainable development of Ukraine, as a competitive and resilient dairy sector is an important component of the future of Ukrainian agriculture. This commitment is clearly defined in the new Cooperation Programme for Ukraine for 2025-2028.

Reference

The Swiss-Ukrainian programme “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP) is financed by Switzerland and implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland).