“How can small producers survive in conditions of labor shortage, rising prices of raw materials and problems with electricity?”, — write: epravda.com.ua
If you are familiar with dairy farming, you know that the price of milk is something that cheese farmers have little control over. It is installed by large dairies. This is a serious challenge for craft cheese factories, because they work only with high-quality raw materials. Large factories can use average quality milk thanks to technology, while craft producers depend on the quality of every drop. And that’s why craft cheese makers have to buy extra class milk. The milk market is on the verge of survival. Recent years have become a real test for the dairy business. Inflation is increasing, and the purchase price of milk is not keeping up with it. The situation is worsened by the damage suffered by farms due to the war. Read also: Five stories about Ukrainian business that surprise the world Advertisement: Against this background, craft producers, who have been teetering on the edge of profitability for years, found themselves in a critical state. Competition on the market is growing, the purchasing power of the middle and premium segments is falling. In the meantime, three main problems are putting pressure on manufacturers at once: 1. The price of raw materials has risen by 25%. This significantly increases the cost of production. 2. Energy crisis. Constant outages force you to spend money on generators and fuel. Advertising: 3. Lack of labor. Due to mobilization, it became more difficult to find specialists. And training new employees from scratch requires additional resources. As a separate point, it is worth highlighting the social significance of a cheese factory in a rural area, which produces a finished product of high added value. This is not raw material, but processing of the last link. Local people who are specialists work at the cheese factory. And all white salaries and taxes, because settlement with networks can only be in a cashless format. You understand what I mean. Both for local people and for local culture, cheese factories in various European countries are centers of culture and bearers of traditions. Often, cheese factories and wineries are the basis of community survival. But let’s return to pricing. Increase product prices? Easy to say, hard to do. It would seem that the solution is obvious – to raise prices. But it is not so easy for craft producers. New prices must be agreed with networks. And before the holidays, there is an unspoken rule in the market – prices are not reviewed until mid-January. Therefore, even under critical conditions, the increase is postponed. Loans? Almost unavailable. The possibility of compensating for resource shortages through loans seems logical. But in practice, banks are in no hurry to cooperate with small producers. As a result, the craft is forced to work with almost no profit. Is there a chance? In order to survive, craft producers have to be flexible, resourceful and ready to fight for every resource. As one of the directions of survival is the unification of cheese factories. There are enough successful examples around the world, primarily in developed countries. It is usually not easy to learn how to build a community together, to work together in an association or cooperative. But there is no other option. It is all the more pleasant that the Association of Cheese Producers of Ukraine has appeared in Ukraine, which aims at important strategic goals, one of which is to protect the interests of cheese factories in the offices of officials, through subsidies, grants and lending, because without such support, the prospects are very vague. Craft is more than just a business. This is love for work, this is passion. And when there is passion, there is always a chance for success.