A round-up of the week’s key events in the dairy industry in Ukraine and around the world 👇
🇺🇦 New Employee Reservation Rules: What Will Change for Businesses and Why It Matters for the Dairy Industry
The issue of reserving conscripted employees remains one of the key challenges for Ukrainian businesses amid the full-scale war. This issue is particularly sensitive for the dairy industry, which operates as a continuous technological cycle and depends on the stable functioning of raw material supply, production, logistics, energy, and personnel.
🇳🇱 ZuivelNL: Dutch dairy market report — May 2026
Dutch milk deliveries continue to rise, though at a slowing pace. April saw growth of +3.8%, and cumulative deliveries in the first four months of 2026 were 5.3% above the same period of 2025. EU milk deliveries rose sharply again in Q1.
🥛 Ultra-filtered lactose-free milk: how a new segment is reshaping the US fluid milk market
US fluid milk sales had been declining for years — but since 2024, the market has stabilised. The reason is the rapid rise of the ‘Other’ milk category, which has grown by nearly 600% in six years, driven by ultra-filtered and lactose-free products with higher protein content.
🌱 Lacto Japan invests in New Zealand’s Leaft Foods — protein from plant leaves
Japan’s Lacto Japan is betting on next-generation alternative protein. The company announced an investment in New Zealand startup Leaft Foods, which extracts Rubisco protein directly from plant leaves for the Japanese market.
🌏 The Philippine dairy industry is growing, but the country’s self-sufficiency in milk remains at 2.1%
The Philippine dairy industry recorded growth in Q1 2026, with milk production rising more than 6%. However, the country still meets only 2.1% of national demand from domestic production. The government has set a target to grow the sector to 5% self-sufficiency by 2028.
🔬 Angel Yeast: yeast-based protein AngeoPro boosts whey protein performance
Angel Yeast has found that blending whey protein with AngeoPro Yeast Protein creates a synergistic effect that surpasses either source used alone. The optimal blend ratio is 7:3 or 8:2 in favour of AngeoPro, opening new opportunities for functional food manufacturers.
💊 FAO: improving livestock productivity could halve antibiotic use
A new FAO-led study warns that without intervention, global antibiotic use in livestock will rise nearly 30% by 2040 to over 143,000 tonnes annually. Targeted productivity gains could cut that figure by up to 57%, according to findings published in Nature Communications.
🐄 Cow’s milk vs plant-based: science beats marketing
The wellness narrative is shifting. The uncomfortable truth about plant-based milk alternatives is surfacing — and cow’s milk is reclaiming its reputation, backed by nutritional science rather than marketing claims.
🍃 ESG: Swiss start-up is testing technology to capture methane on farms
Swiss climate start-up Sixteen44 is moving from laboratory research to practical trials of its methane-reduction technology. The company plans to install its first operational system on a farm in Switzerland to test effectiveness under real-world conditions.
🏢 Large corporations are re-evaluating their approach to the food industry
Large multinational companies are increasingly reviewing their food assets and redirecting investments towards segments with higher margins. The latest decisions by Unilever and IFF demonstrate a new strategic approach to business development in the food industry.
🍃 ESG: Can dairy thrive in the age of methane transparency?
EU CSRD rules and investor pressure are pushing dairy firms to disclose methane emissions. Currently only three companies have methane action plans — regulation mandates disclosure, not reduction.
🇺🇦 Polish expansion: how Ukraine is losing its dairy market
Ukraine’s dairy imports are not just growing — they are systematically displacing domestic producers. Dairy product imports rose 21% in the first five months of 2026, and the sector’s trade balance has turned negative. Poland now holds 42% of Ukraine’s dairy import value.
