KYIV. Aug 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Exports of Ukrainian agricultural products grew by 28% in January-June 2017 year-over-year, to $8.7 billion.

According to a press release of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine, in H1 2017 exports of all types of agricultural products rose.

Animals and animal products for $492.5 million were supplied to foreign markets (55% up compared with H1 2016), crops for $4.3 billion (24.5%), including grain crops for $3.3 billion (22.7%), fats and oil for $2.5 billion (27%) and finished food for $1.4 billion (33.6%).

Agricultural products for $1.97 billion were imported to Ukraine in H1 2017, and this was 12% more than a year ago.

Animals and animal products for $311.7 million were supplied to the Ukrainian market (1.3% up compared with H1 2016), fats and oil for $119.8 million (6.6% up) and finished food for $798.1 million (2% up), crops for $742.1 million (a decline of 0.7% year-over-year), including grain crops for $113.2 million (decline of 2.5%).

In general, in H1 2017 the surplus of foreign trade with agricultural products of $6.7 billion was recorded. The share of exports of agricultural products of total Ukrainian exports over the period was 42.1%, the ministry said.

KYIV. Aug 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market of Ukraine has obliged authorized rating agencies to create a new body – the rating committee – as part of an organized structure.
The requirement is outlined in the amendments to the rules of assigning national ratings by authorized rating agencies approved at the commission meeting on August 10, 2017.
According to the document, the authorized rating agency is obliged to identify and eliminate any existing or potential conflicts of interest that may affect the work and conclusions of rating analysts, employees and other persons whose services the agency uses, or who are involved in the process of rating assignment/approval.
Changes in the rules also prescribe that quarterly reports of the issuers of securities should be included in the information that the rated entities should report to an authorized rating agency.
During the meeting, the securities commission also approved the rules of holding tenders to determine the authorized rating agencies and the rules of keeping the public register of authorized rating agencies.
The rules have the requirements for an information message (announcement) on a tender to select authorized rating agencies, a tender commission, the procedure and conditions for participation in the tender, the procedure for conducting it, the procedure for resolving disputes and other issues.
The rules of keeping the public register of authorized rating agencies specifies the requirements for this register, in particular: the composition of information, the procedure for introducing changes, the procedure for removing an authorized rating agency from the register, issuing a duplicate certificate, and the procedure for obtaining information on authorized rating agencies.
These documents are drawn up, taking into account the requirements of EU Regulation No. 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe dated September 16, 2009 on credit rating agencies. In addition, in order to adapt national legislation, the commission is designing a bill on the rating system.
According to the data of the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market, currently the authorized rating agencies are: ІВІ-Rating, Rurik, Expert Rating, Credit Rating and Standard-Rating.

KYIV. Aug 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Antonov state enterprise (Kyiv) plans to supply 70 transport and regional passenger planes to the market in the next five years, the press service of Ukroboronprom state concern has said.
According to the report, these plans are fixed by the marketing plan prepared by Antonov, which also includes the delivery of 20 An-178 aircraft to customers from the CIS, Asia, Africa, and Turkey in five years.
“Antonov state enterprise also plans to return to the competitive market of regional passenger aircraft,” the report said.
The state concern has not disclosed other details of the prepared marketing plan.
The new Ukrainian transport An-178 aircraft with a carrying capacity of 18 tonnes developed by Antonov state enterprise is being created to replace the An-12 and, according to experts, in some regions it could also become a modern replacement for the S-160. About 200 companies from 15 countries are involved in production cooperation under the program of the An-178, which made the first flight in May 2015.

KYIV. Aug 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine ranks fifth among European Union countries in terms of production of horticultural and berry products and has a great potential in this direction, according to a report on the business prospects of Ukraine in production, storage, processing and packaging of fruits and vegetables.
“The purpose of our research is to show the potential of the Ukrainian fruit and vegetable market to American suppliers of equipment and technologies. We should do this because the news about Ukraine in the U.S. news space is not very positive. The main goal is to give American companies the information so that they get interested in supplying technology and equipment and in investments,” U.S. Embassy Commercial Officer in Ukraine Michele Smith told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to her, work on research of the fruit and vegetable market of Ukraine began in November 2016. The partners of the embassy on the project became the Ukrsadprom association and the USAID Agriculture and Rural Development Support Project.
According to the study, in 2016 Ukraine increased exports of vegetables by 57%, to $153 million compared to 2015, by increasing supplies to the EU. In addition, the new markets of South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and Africa (Kenya and Guinea) were opened.

KYIV. Aug 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian Berry Guild LLC, a member of the Agrospring 2011 berry cooperative, seeks to launch a first phase of the berry farm in Makariv district of Kyiv region, which construction is to finish by the end of this year.
“The sum of investment in the farm is around UAH 30 million. The core business is sale of sprouts and planting stock of key berries: strawberries, cranberries, blackberries and blueberries,” the owner of the company Vadym Skorokhod told Interfax-Ukraine.
He said that the construction of the farm was started in March 2017.
The company is holding talks with U.S. and European selection companies and receiving a license to sell high-quality beery planting stock of foreign selection.
“Our five-year plan is to expand the fields and build an in-vitro laboratory,” he said.

KYIV. Aug 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Specialists of the Pallada Kherson state-owned plant as part of the resumption of freight transportation by river have initiated the designing of a ferroconcrete environment friendly tow boat with a carrying capacity of 1,000 tonnes, the top managers of the enterprise have told Interfax-Ukraine.
The tow boat will be able to transport mineral and construction freight, agricultural products, heavy and other freight.
“Shipbuilding concrete based on sulfate resistant ordinary portland cement will be used for the hull of the boat. The Pallada plant has been using this material for building floating composite docks operated in many countries,” the plant said.
“When ferroconcrete facilities are built and used no expensive protective paint-and-lacquer coating is used, and the Pallada-made tow boats will be environment friendly,” the plant said.
Pallada Kherson state-owned plant is currently the world’s only shipyard that specializes in building next generation composite floating docks for maintenance of civil and naval ships. The warranty period of the equipment it makes is 50 years. Among the company’s customers are Japan, South Korea, Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Algeria, Croatia, France, and South Africa.