To 20% of Ukraine’s flour mills were affected by the war: how this affects the market and prices

Since the start of the full-scale invasion on Ukrainian territory, damage and destruction of varying degrees have affected about 15–20% of bread baking enterprises.

As reported by Delo.ua, this was stated by Oleh Taranko, the First Vice President of the Ukrainian Bakers Association (UBA), in an interview with the studio “Novyny.Live.”

According to him, the destruction of factories themselves practically did not affect prices, because bread remains largely a regional product with a logistical reach of 200–300 kilometers.

Restoration of damaged production requires at least one year, even with the necessary funding.

The technological specifics of industrial bakeries lie in the fact that most ovens, proofing cabinets, and packaging lines are built to individual designs for specific premises.

As noted by the UBA, there is no shortage of staple wheat and flour in the country, but difficulties with rye flour persist.

Due to lower yields, farmers have reduced rye sowings, so processors are forced to import raw materials from Poland and the Baltic states, which affects the cost of rye-wheat varieties.

Recall that in July it was forecast that bread could rise by approximately 5%. The main factor was cited as rising production costs due to higher labor costs from new requirements related to the average wage for reservist workers.