Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, has successfully passed certification under the Canada Organic Regime standard and received a Canadian organic certificate for its products – organic chickpeas and high oleic organic sunflower, the company’s press service reported on Facebook.
“This expands our export opportunities and strengthens Ukraine’s position as a supplier of quality organic products on the world stage,” Vyacheslav Chuk, the agricultural holding’s director of commercial and strategic marketing, said in a statement.
As noted, the certification confirms that the production process complies with international organic standards, which include the use of renewable resources, safe technologies for people and the environment, animal welfare, prohibition of GMOs and prevention of environmental pollution.
“Demand for organic products is growing globally, and Canada is one of the largest importers of organic products. The certificate gives us access to new markets that recognize this standard,” explained Chuk.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
Production Enterprise Tekhmash JSC (Dnipro) plans to allocate UAH 5 million from retained earnings to pay dividends in 2024, at the rate of UAH 16,667 thousand per share with a par value of UAH 8.
According to the draft decision of the general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 10, published in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), dividends are scheduled to be paid by October 10, 2025.
As reported, in 2023, the company also paid UAH 5 million in dividends from retained earnings.
“Tecmash does not provide financial indicators for 2024, but according to the Clarity Project, last year the company made a net profit of UAH 2.83 million (against UAH 0.19 million in 2023) with a 35% increase in net income to UAH 223.4 million.
Retained earnings at the beginning of the year amounted to UAH 66.74 million (UAH 76.13 million a year earlier).
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, 61% of the authorized capital of Tekhmash is owned by its director Oleksandr Kolomoitsyn, and four other individuals own 28% of the shares in total. The authorized capital of the company is UAH 2.4 million.
The main specialization of Tekhmash is the installation of technological equipment, pipelines, and the manufacture of equipment for various industries, including conveyors (scraper, belt, screw), capacitive equipment, metal structures, and aspiration air ducts.
At the beginning of 2024, it employed 229 people, down 23% from a year earlier.
In 2024, Raiffeisen Bank (Kyiv) had UAH 7 billion of new investments in its portfolio, of which UAH 3 billion were for agricultural processing projects, said Yuriy Kozak, Director of Large Corporate Clients, Raiffeisen Bank (Kyiv).
“Since the beginning of the war, customer behavior has evolved. At first, they looked at the operating business, at working capital. In 2023, the demand for investment loans to replace machinery and equipment began to recover. In 2024, we as banks saw a real demand for investment. Clients have already come with new production facilities, new capacities, even new plants,” he said at the Ukrainian Investment Congress in Kyiv on Thursday.
Kozak noted that in 2024, Raiffeisen Bank’s portfolio included requests for new investments worth UAH 7 billion, of which UAH 3 billion was for agricultural processing: starch production, soybean processing, oil extraction plants, bioethanol and biomethane production. In addition, in 2024, a number of clients from the agricultural sector began to build new dairy farms.
He added that Raiffeisen Bank actively assists agricultural businesses and provides loans for 5 years. The bank offers foreign currency loans to companies engaged in export activities, which are quite cheap compared to foreign financing. Speaking about hryvnia loans, the expert noted that they are more expensive due to the political realities in the country, the discount rate and the cost of resources.
President of Poland Andrzej Duda has stated the need to end the war in Ukraine with a just and lasting peace and emphasized the importance of transatlantic ties, the Polish President’s Office reports.
“Every day we bear the risks of war on our shoulders. The war in Ukraine must end. It must end in a just and lasting peace. Maintaining ties between the United States and Europe is fundamental,” Duda said.
He expressed doubt that increased aid to Ukraine from European countries would be able to compensate for the cessation of US aid, and called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to return to talks with the US side on continued support.
“President Zelensky must return to the negotiating table at any cost and as soon as possible, because it is in his interest that Ukraine survives this war. In my opinion, Ukraine will not survive without the support of the United States,” the Polish president said.
According to him, there is nothing to indicate that Europe will change its behavior and provide large-scale assistance to Ukraine. “Perhaps the whole of Europe will radically change its previous behavior and suddenly stand firmly and unanimously against Russia and provide Ukraine with exceptionally large-scale assistance that will allow it to continue to defend and fight. Perhaps it will provide such assistance and Ukraine will not be conquered by Russia, and secondly, this war will end happily for Ukraine. However, after what Europe has done in this regard, there is absolutely nothing to indicate this. If anyone can force Russia to end the war, it is the United States of America,” the president said.
Duda is also convinced that if an agreement is concluded between the US and Ukraine on minerals, “Ukraine will become strategic for the interests of the United States, and I am convinced that they will protect it.”
Ukraine and the People’s Republic of China have signed an agreement on the terms of export of Ukrainian aquatic products and peas to China, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reports.
“The Ministry of Agrarian Policy continues to work on opening new markets and scaling up existing ones. Today we have signed an important agreement with the People’s Republic of China,” Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval said on Telegram.
According to the report, the agreement will allow Ukrainian farmers to gain access to one of the world’s largest markets, expand their presence in China, and support producers, especially in the fisheries and grain sectors. Ukraine will be able to increase exports and foreign exchange earnings, diversify its markets and integrate into global trade chains.
These agreements are the result of a dialogue between our countries and a series of high-level meetings. It was also the result of active cooperation between the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, associations, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, and the Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine, Ma Shengkun. I am confident that we have laid a solid foundation for expanding cooperation, as the last time such a contract was signed with China was more than 5 years ago,” the Minister summarized.
In 2024, the insurance company Knyazha Vienne Insurance Group (Knyazha VIG, Kyiv) collected UAH 2.517 billion in insurance premiums, which is 26.36% more than in 2023.
This follows from the announcement of the rating agency Standard-Rating on the affirmation of the financial strength rating/credit rating of the insurer at uaAA+ for the period under review.
According to RA’s website, during the period under review, revenues from individuals increased by 25.89% to UAH 1.797 billion, and from reinsurers – by 55.04% to UAH 6.155 million. The share of individuals in the company’s gross written premiums amounted to 71.39%, and the share of reinsurers – 0.24%.
Insurance payments sent to reinsurers in 2024 increased by 30.29% compared to 2023 – up to UAH 314.465 million. Thus, the ratio of reinsurers’ participation in insurance premiums increased by 0.37 p.p. to 12.49%.
At the same time, RA notes that net written premiums increased by 25.80% to UAH 2.203 billion, and net earned premiums increased by 36.67% to UAH 2 billion.
The volume of insurance payments and reimbursements made by Knyazha VIG in 2024 increased by 58.53% compared to 2023, to UAH 1.005 billion. Thus, the level of payments increased by 8.11 percentage points to 39.94%.
In 2024, despite the loss-making result from operating activities, the insurer received a net profit of UAH 0.142 million.
Assets as of December 31, 2024 increased by 22.28% to UAH 2.180 billion, equity increased by 0.25% to UAH 449.832 million, liabilities showed an increase of 29.69% to UAH 1.730 billion, cash and cash equivalents increased by 62.93% to UAH 81.539 million.
RA notes that during the reporting period, the insurer made financial investments in the amount of UAH 1.014 billion, which consisted of government bonds (74.69% of the investment portfolio), as well as deposits in banks with a high credit rating (25.31% of the portfolio). Thus, liquid assets covered 58.64% of the insurer’s liabilities.
PrJSC “IC ‘Knyazha Vienna Insurance Group’ is a part of IFG Vienna Insurance Group Ukraine, the main shareholder of which is Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (Austria). The group also includes PrJSC IC Ukrainian Insurance Group – 100%, PrJSC IC KnyazhaLife Viena Insurance Group – 97.8%, LLC USG Consulting – 50.7%, LLC VIG Services Ukraine – 78.7%, LLC Assistance Company Ukrainian Assistance Service – 100%.
