The forum “Grain and Processing 2025: Flour, Groceries, Mixed Feed” was held in Lviv over several days, combining practice, analytics, and lively discussions about the future of Ukrainian grain processing, writes SEEDS.
More than 100 representatives of grain processing, baking, and compound feed enterprises, analysts, representatives of technology companies, and industry experts—those who shape the industry’s agenda—came to Lviv for this key industry event.
The forum was organized by the Ukrainian Flour Millers Association and Agro Marketing Agency.
During the forum, Taras Vysotsky, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine, presented the key indicators and trends for the new agricultural season. According to preliminary estimates, the wheat harvest in 2025 will be 23 million tons, while domestic consumption will remain at around 6 million tons. The sowing campaign is ongoing, and the area under winter wheat is expected to increase by 7–10%, which creates the conditions for stable production in 2026.
At the same time, Vysotsky noted the difficult situation on the rye market: cultivation volumes are minimal, and the ministry, together with relevant associations, is preparing mechanisms to stimulate the expansion of sowing areas starting next season.
As part of the forum, Rodion Rybchinsky, Director of the Public Union “Flour Millers of Ukraine,” presented an online course for agribusiness, “Post-harvest processing and storage of grain,” from AgriAcademy, a free online platform for agricultural education and certified online courses from leading Ukrainian and international experts.
The new AgriAcademy course is dedicated to the basics of organizing and conducting grain reception, post-harvest processing, and storage. It is designed for those interested in improving their qualifications and mastering modern and innovative techniques and technologies for improving grain readiness for storage, control, and quality improvement.
AgriAcademy.org is a free online learning platform for agricultural workers and students of agricultural education institutions, launched by the EBRD in December 2022 as part of its food security support program in Ukraine. Its goal is to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainable development of agriculture, which has suffered significant losses due to the war.
In addition to the presentation of the course during the forum, all participants received promotional materials with the AgriAcademy QR code. By following the link, everyone can choose the online course they want and register for it.
After the war began, thousands of agricultural workers lost access to structured forms of training. AgriAcademy has become the answer to this problem – a platform that provides:
Go to training: https://agriacademy.org/courses-catalog/
AgriAcademy is a free online training platform created on the initiative of the EBRD as part of its food security support program in Ukraine. Its goal is to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainable development of agriculture, which has suffered significant losses due to the war.
The platform’s creation and management (including course development, training tours, etc.) is supported and funded by the EBRD, as well as:
In October 2025, Oschadbank increased its portfolio of loans to legal entities by UAH 4.2 billion, which, according to its data, is the largest increase among Ukrainian banks, according to a release on the financial institution’s website.
Oschadbank noted that the total volume of its loan portfolio to legal entities as of October 1 this year amounted to UAH 99 billion, of which UAH 30 billion were loans to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, with the remainder going to corporate businesses.
As noted in the release with reference to the National Bank’s data, Oschadbank’s net portfolio at the beginning of October accounted for 13.6% of the corporate lending market, securing its leading position.
“During the full-scale invasion, Oschadbank has been directing its free liquidity to support the real sector of the economy, and during this period, the corporate business loan portfolio has grown more than one and a half times, or by UAH 23.5 billion, with this segment accounting for 70% of the corporate portfolio,” said Yuriy Katsion, deputy chairman of the bank’s board, who is responsible for this area, in a press release.
As reported, in October 2025, the corporate segment’s loan portfolio grew by 2.6%, or UAH 26.9 billion, to UAH 970.1 billion. Hryvnia loans to businesses added 1.7%, or UAH 11.5 billion, reaching UAH 689.7 billion, while foreign currency loans increased by 4.2%, or $267 million, to $6.68 billion.
According to the NBU, at the beginning of October this year, Oschadbank, with total assets of UAH 485.69 billion (12.3% of the total), was second among 60 banks in terms of this indicator.
Ukraine imported 123,140 tons of potatoes in January-October 2025, which is 5.1 times more than in the same period last year, according to the State Customs Service.
According to published statistics, in monetary terms, potato imports increased 4.8 times, to $66.086 million, compared to $13.69 million a year ago. The main imports came from Poland (36.9% of supplies in monetary terms), Egypt (13.7%), and the Netherlands (11.6%).
At the same time, potato exports from Ukraine decreased by 13.4% to 2.14 thousand tons during the reporting period, while in monetary terms, sales were more profitable and brought in 2.4% ($521 thousand) more revenue than last year. The main buyers of Ukrainian potatoes were Moldova (58.5% of all exports), Azerbaijan (38.6%), and Singapore (0.6%).
In October 2025, Ukraine imported 359 tons of potatoes, which is 11.4 times (4,090 tons) less than in the same period last year, while exports increased 4.6 times (269 tons).
As reported, Ukraine had a poor potato harvest in the 2024 season due to drought, extremely high temperatures, and a shortage of seed material.
Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Taras Vysotsky noted in a podcast by the Center for Economic Strategies that in 2025, the vegetable harvest in Ukraine will be sufficient and even greater than last year, so no shortage is expected in this sector.
Metinvest Sichstal LLC (MSS, Zaporizhia) increased its net losses by 30.1% in January-September this year compared to the same period last year, to UAH 36.227 million.
According to the company’s interim report, available to Interfax-Ukraine, the loss in the third quarter amounted to UAH 13.233 million.
Revenue for this period increased 5.3 times, to UAH 919.334 million from UAH 173.633 million.
The uncovered loss at the end of September amounted to UAH 80.522 million.
The LLC ended 2024 with a loss of UAH 15.075 million, while in 2023 it amounted to UAH 7.764 million.
Metinvest Sichstal LLC is a company within the Metinvest Group for the implementation of highly complex strategic investment projects, established in 2019.
MCC is one of the largest project organizations in Ukraine, capable of implementing large projects, from conceptual design to commissioning. The company’s goal is to implement key projects of the technological strategy of Metinvest Group companies. MCC provides an integrated process from investment idea, engineering, and design to procurement, construction, and commissioning.
Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) owns a 100% stake in Metinvest Sichstal LLC.
The LLC’s authorized capital is UAH 30.405 million.
Metinvest Sichstal LLC is part of the Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk) (71.24%) and the Smart Holding group of companies (23.76%). The managing company of Metinvest Group is Metinvest Holding LLC.
On Wednesday, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with a number of other agencies, published an action plan to stimulate consumption and balance supply and demand for consumer goods, outlining key measures, Xinhua reports.
The plan calls for optimizing the structure of consumer goods supply by 2027. Specifically, three consumer sectors worth 1 trillion yuan ($141.2 billion) and ten consumer areas worth 100 billion yuan will be identified.
According to the plan, the consumer sector’s contribution to China’s economic growth will steadily increase until 2030.
In total, the plan includes 19 key tasks, including the comprehensive implementation of AI solutions, increased budgetary and financial support, and the expansion of new product offerings, such as green products.
In addition, it provides for a clearer focus on meeting the needs of different population groups. This applies to expanding the range of products for infants and children, as well as products that are convenient for the elderly, Xinhua notes.
Prices for building materials have risen by 10–15% since the beginning of 2025, according to Sergey Pylypenko, CEO of the Kovalska Group (Kyiv), in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“On average, prices are rising at the rate of inflation—from 10 to 15%, depending on the product. The most expensive products are those that are cement-intensive, energy-intensive, or labor-intensive,” he said.
In particular, according to Pylypenko, concrete has risen in price by about 7-10% year-on-year, reinforced concrete products by 12-15%, and paving slabs by almost 20%.
Gravel and sand showed the lowest increase in price, up to 10%.
According to the expert, limited demand and the absence of large infrastructure projects do not allow prices to rise in this market. “The market (for road works) is very inactive, so everyone is trying to compete on price to the last,” he explained.
According to Pylypenko, human resources showed the highest growth, with wages increasing by 25% or more.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified people, and this is the reason why it is sometimes difficult for us to fulfill some orders as quickly as we would like. All this actually affects GDP, the competitiveness of the domestic economy, and our products. But it also encourages us to adopt more automated technologies, invest in IT solutions, improve processes, and upgrade to more modern equipment,” he said, citing the plant in Rozvadov as an example, where the entire production volume will be provided by only 40 employees.
The Kovalskaya Industrial and Construction Group has been operating in the Ukrainian construction market since 1956. It unites more than 20 enterprises in the field of raw material extraction, product manufacturing, and construction. Its products are represented by the brands Beton vid Kovalskoi, Avenue, and Siltek. Kovalskaya’s enterprises operate in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Lviv, and Chernihiv regions. The aerated concrete plant in the Kherson region has not been operating since the beginning of the occupation.
