The production of butter in Ukraine has decreased by 20%, and milk processing companies are switching to cheese production. According to Ukrainian milk processors, butter production is not profitable and most of them turned to cheese. As a result, the butter produced by big processing companies has already disappeared from the shop shelves; smaller processors are standing in line.  
The situation is favorable for importers. Since the beginning of the year, about 14.000 tons have been bought from Belarus.  For 6 months of 2009, 500 tons have been imported from other European countries, which is eight times more than the import for the whole year of 2008. On the shop shelves consumer can see now butter produced in Finland. It is quite different in taste, color and smell from Ukrainian butter.
It is a paradox, but at the same time European interest in Ukrainian milk is getting up. Europeans have already been inspecting raw milk base. Obviously, Europeans would buy our cheap milk, process it into butter and sell it at world prices to Ukrainian consumers.
The prices for butter will increase by the end of the year. According to experts, whole-sale price of butter will be UAH 38-40 per kilogram at the end of the year. Retail price which is 30% higher will be from UAH 10-12 to 12-13 per 200 g (or 200 g package).
It should be mentioned; some years ago we could not even think of importing butter. On the contrary, about 50 tons of butter were exported a year.