Mr Prysiazhnyuk said: "In recent years, domestic producers were able to make the production of milk and meat a profitable venture. Of course, it was not without the help of the state in this direction.

"And today, thanks to the growth of domestic livestock production, Ukraine provides domestic needs and is confidently moving towards import substitution."

The Minister added that from the beginning of 2013, production of meat increased by 9.3 per cent and this has amounted to 2.3 million tons.

This, in turn, contributed to the growth in exports of Ukrainian meat by 62 per cent to 109,000 tonnes. This figure continues the positive trend of previous months.

According to Mr Prysiazhnyuk, currently, more than 61 per cent of Ukrainian meat produced on modern livestock and poultry farms.

Moreover, according to the Minister, the dynamics in the production of milk is positive.