Trends and Prospects for the Development of the Ukrainian Market of Plant-Based Milk Substitutes in the War and Postwar Period

Abstract

Topicality.Economic changes associated with the military invasion lead to large-scale transformations in the country's economy, economic relations between the actors of agri-food markets, in particular, dairy, and form the prerequisites for the formation and further development of their innovative segments. The growing trend of reducing the number of cows and milk production during the wartime period, on the one hand, and the growing consumer demand for plant-based milk in the world, on the other, have created the preconditions for the development of the industrial production of non-dairy products in Ukraine. The market of plant-based milk substitutes is characterized by the social importance of the products and their significant role in ensuring food and environmental security of the country. The development of this market also ensures the formation of extended processing chains for domestic agricultural raw materials and the growth of market added value.Aim and tasks. The purpose of the article is to identify current trends and problems of development of the global and domestic market of plant-based milk substitutes, to substantiate the role of the relevant market in the food supply of the population and the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the wartime and post-war periods.Materials and Methods. The results of the theoretical generalization of scientific works and analytical reviews on the functioning of markets for plant-based milk substitutes, which are covered in publications of a fundamental and applied nature, as well as statistical data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the regulatory framework for food supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine form the material and methodological basis of the study. The methods of systematic, structural and logical, comparative, and statistical analysis were used to solve the tasks.Research results. The study found that the global dairy market has undergone significant transformations due to changes in consumer preferences, physical activity, climate factors, global demographic imbalances, etc. These circumstances have led to a decline in the quality of dairy products, a reduction in its production base, a drop in the competitive ability of products and formed the preconditions for the development of the global market for dairy alternatives. The Ukrainian vegetable milk market is growing dynamically; in 2020, its volumes increased 13.6 times compared to 2019. Domestic producers use affordable and acceptable raw materials, such as oats and buckwheat, to make plant milk.In wartime, there is a need to provide the population and the military with vegetable milk. It is proposed to make changes and additions to the catalog of food sets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, through the use of useful food substitutes, the production of which involves the use of domestic agricultural raw materials and an increase in market added value.Conclusion. The article substantiates the need to determine the priority areas of state regulation of the domestic vegetable milk market, in particular, the regulation of relations between domestic producers of non-dairy products and the Main Directorate for Development and Support of Material Support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the norms of public-private partnership relations. Prospects for further research are the development of institutional and methodological support for the sustainability of the functioning and development of the Ukrainian market of plant-based milk substitutes in the wartime and post-war periods.