Capacity and saturation of the food market in Ukraine

In a market economy, the optimal supply of food to the population depends entirely on the development of the food market. To establish indicators of rational consumption, it is important to determine the capacity and saturation of the food market. The purpose of this study was to highlight the current proportions of supply and demand in the Ukrainian food market, establish the correspondence of the capacity and saturation of the food market to rational consumption parameters. The study used dialectical method of cognition of market processes and a systematic approach, analytical generalizations, statistical comparison, constructive-calculation, tabular, and abstract-logical method. The food market is recognized as aggregative, as it includes several interconnected markets for crop production, livestock production, and industrial processing. The study investigated the specific features of the formation of demand for food with low purchasing power of the population. The market capacity was established – standard with minimum and rational consumption standards and real. The latter was almost 30% lower than the calculated one based on rational norms, which indicates additional opportunities to replenish the income of the agricultural sector. It was found that even with an increase in effective demand of the population, the improvement in consumption is levelled due to rising food prices. A prominent level of self-sufficiency of the country in food products (excluding fish and fish products) was established, and a considerable saturation of the market with essential products – potatoes, vegetables, eggs, butter, and bread. The study results should be used in the formation of a target program for the development of the food market for a long-term period aimed primarily at rational provision of food products to the population of Ukraine