The introduction of duties on import of diesel fuel and liquefied gas of Russian production will cause price increases, weaken competition in the market and will not solve the problems of Ukrainian oil refineries, according to A-95 Consulting Group.
According to a press release, the group came to such conclusions following a study of complaints by Ukrainian fuel producers represented by PJSC Ukrtatnafta, PJSC Ukrnafta and JSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia to the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade, in which they asked for an anti-subsidiary investigation and introduce duties on Russian diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas in the amount of 8.46% with an increase to 25.4% over five years.
“The main argument of manufacturers is dumping by Russian exporters, which is not true. Imported petroleum products, including Russian ones, are sold to Ukraine with premiums to the world quotes. So, for 2020 Ukrainian companies signed contracts for Russian diesel fuel with a premium to European quotes of up to $35/tonne, for liquefied gas of up to $22/tonne. This is due to the fact that Ukraine remains import dependent: in 2019, imports of diesel fuel accounted for 88% in the national balance, liquefied gas for 78.5%,” A-95 said.
According to the group, the most critical consequences of duties will be felt by the diesel market, which accounts for 70% in the basket of motor fuels. If the proposed duty is introduced at 8.46%, imports from Russia may cease completely, which will increase pressure on the remaining sources of supply, primarily Belarus, whose share will grow from the current 35% to 60% of the market. At the same time, the capabilities of Ukrainian producers are limited by a twofold increase in processing, which in the best case will allow raising the market weight from 12% to 25%.
The change of head of the President’s Office of Ukraine in no way affects the political course of the state. “There are important reforms ahead, and this is precisely what the team of Volodymyr Zelensky is focusing on,” the President’s Office commented on its Facebook page. At the President’s Office, they thanked Andriy Bohdan, its previous head, for his work, who had resigned.
“From today, the Office of the President of Ukraine is headed by Andriy Yermak. The previous leader, Andriy Bohdan, has resigned. The President’s Office is grateful for his work during these months. The President’s Office is confident that Andriy Yermak will cope with the responsibility entrusted to him,” a statement says.
Ukraine must refuse road patching repairs, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated. “Patching repairs should be a thing of the past,” he said during a press conference on road repairs in Kyiv. According to the president, the construction and overhauls of roads should account for about 80% of all road works.
Zelensky also emphasized the importance of providing guarantees for all road construction works so that “asphalt does not disappear with snow.”
“We must build in order to destroy. To break the stereotype that Ukraine and good roads are not compatible concepts,” Zelensky said.
At the same time, the president noted that at present only 15 regions of the country had approved the list of road construction and repairs.
“We expect that local authorities will intensify their work and approve the list of construction and repair of roads. Today only 15 regions have done so … And three regions have not passed the list at all (Lviv, Zakarpattia and Sumy regions),” he said.
Zelensky also recalled that the plans for 2020 are to upgrade 4,000 km of state roads.
The government also plans in 2020 to build 2,500 km of local roads, for which UAH 22.2 billion will be allocated, or 70% more than was used last year. In general, this will allow creating about 12,000 new jobs.
Ukraine in January 2020 increased exports of titanium containing ore and concentrate in kind by 12.2% compared to 2018, to 52,400 tonnes.
According to customs statistics released by the State Fiscal Service, over the period exports of titanium ore and concentrate in monetary terms decreased by 8.6%, to $12.586 million.
Major exports were made to Mexico (23.84% of deliveries in monetary terms), Russia (18.01%) and Egypt (13.79%).
Ukraine in January 2020 imported 78 tonnes of similar products worth $55,000 from Senegal (805 tonnes for $163,000 in January 2019).
Vilnohirsk state mining and metallurgical combine (Dnipropetrovsk region), Irshansk state mining and processing combine (Zhytomyr region), Valki-Ilmenite and Mezhdurechensk Mining and Concentration Complexes (both are located in Irshansk, Zhytomyr region) are the main producers of titanium ore in Ukraine.
Dnipro-based Velta production and commercial firm built a mining and processing complex at the Birzulivske ilmenite deposit, which has a 240,000-tonne ilmenite concentrate capacity per year.
Holding company Velta Group Global Ltd. was registered in London in November 2011.
The passenger flow at the Kharkiv International Airport in January 2020 grew by 55% year-over-year, to 111,600 people.
The airport said on its Facebook page, the total number of flights was 435.
The most popular destinations were Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Istanbul (Turkey), Boryspil (Kyiv), Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk (all are Poland), Vienna (Austria), Wroclaw (Poland), Dortmund (Germany) and Prague (the Czech Republic).
As reported, the passenger flow of the Kharkiv International Airport in 2019 increased by 40% compared to the same period in 2018, to 1.3 million people.
Kharkiv airport has a runway 2500 meters long and 50 meters wide. Two passenger terminals with an hour capacity of 100 and 650 people are located on its territory.
The airport through New Systems AM is operated by DCH.
Kyiv’s business court has annulled a ban the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) from preparing for the privatization of PJSC Centrenergo, passing a ruling under a petition of the SPF on February 6, 2020.
The fund said on its website that at the end of January, the fund started the procedure of selecting investment advisors for the privatization of Centrenergo and is attracting an audit company with an impeccable reputation to conduct audit of the enterprise for 2019.
“In February, procedures to prepare a number of other large facilities for the privatization will be launched,” the SPF said.
As reported, Vitaliy Kropachev’s Ukrdoninvest LLC (Kyiv) repeatedly secured a lawsuit against the State Property Fund in the case of the privatization of PJSC Centrenergo by banning the fund from taking any actions to implement it.
Prosecutor’s office in Kyiv opened criminal proceedings on making the deliberately illegal decision to ban the privatization of PJSC Centrenergo by a judge of the business court of Kyiv.
