Analysis of the state of the fur animal breeding industry in the world and Ukraine for the period 2020-2025

Abstract

The state of the fur farming industry in Ukraine for the period 2020-2025 was analyzed. It was found that global fur production for the period 2020-2025 underwent significant changes and, under the influence of a number of factors (decreased demand for products, the COVID-19 pandemic, and environmental initiatives in a number of European countries) has halved production from 33 million (2020) to 17 million in 2022 and even lower to 15 million skins in 2023, and is therefore in decline. China, the world's largest fur producer until 2020, has also seen a decline in production against this backdrop, which is another factor that significantly affects global production.

An analysis of the global fur market shows that among cage-raised fur animals, the main species are traditionally various color types of American mink – 95%, silver-black fox fur accounts for only 2%, and fur of other species, such as chinchilla, nutria, sable, etc., accounts for only 3%.

The largest producers of mink fur remain Denmark (about 30% of the global volume), Poland (about 5 million skins/year), the Netherlands (4 million), Finland (2 million), and the United States (3.9 million). . Estimates show that in 2024 – 2025, China produced 3 – 4 million mink skins per year, which is equal to 6 – 8% of the global volume, but imports more than 10 million skins. Ukraine's share in the pre-war period was 1 – 1.5%.

As of 2025, there are about 10 modern enterprises operating in Ukraine; these main farms are concentrated in the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, and Lviv regions, and they account for ~95% of exports. The main type of fur animal is also the American mink – 98%.

Existing fur farms are oriented more towards European markets, so they breed minks whose fur is in demand among EU consumers – short-haired minks of Scandinavian selection of various colors (scanbrown, scanglow, scanblack, pearl, sapphire, etc.). In 2022 – 2025, the fur farming sector focused on compliance with WelFur standards in order to be able to sell products at international auctions (Saga Furs, Kopenhagen Fur).