The National Commission for the State Regulation of Financial Services Markets, on April 9, entered the information on double liability company Gestalt Group (Kyiv) into the public register of financial institutions, the commission has said on its website.
According to the unified public register of legal entities and private entrepreneurs, the company was registered in February 2019 with charter capital of UAH 34 million. It specializes in risk insurance and reinsurance.
The founders of the company were Gestalt Finance LLC (Kyiv) with contribution of UAH 33.660 million, PrJSC Arton-Megacity, Andriy Antonenko and Yuriy Khandashko, who is also the head of the company.
According to the public register of legal entities and private entrepreneurs, Gestalt Finance LLC was registered in March 2019 with charter capital of UAH 10,000. The founder is PrJSC Arton-Megacity and Antonenko.
KSG Agro agricultural holding intends to achieve a 15% increase in pig breeding in live weight for 2020 compared to 2019.
“Increasing production is our strategic goal. Moreover, the market situation and increasing demand contribute to this. Therefore, our plans this year are to increase pig breeding products in live weight by 15% compared to the same indicator in 2019,” KSG Agro Board Chairman Serhiy Kasyanov told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the agricultural holding did not revise investment plans for 2020 due to quarantine and the uncertain economic situation in Ukraine.
“These plans are valid and we did not change them. The planned investment for the year to continue the reconstruction of the main industrial complex and the start of the design of the genetic reproducer will be about UAH 25 million. The genetic reproducer will produce Danish boars and sows, which will allow us to reduce costs and start sales to other customers,” the owner of KSG Agro said.
Kasyanov said that in 2020 the holding plans to increase exports of manufactured products.
“In the first quarter of this year, we exported 1,356 tonnes of wheat flour to Libya. Export volumes are growing. For comparison, we shipped 720 tonnes of wheat flour for 2019. So far, despite the crisis, we plan to increase the export of our products. In the second quarter we intend to export 2,000 tonnes of wheat flour, some 1,000 tonnes of barley, some 500 tonnes of refined sunflower oil and some 1,000 tonnes of other goods,” the KSG Agro board chairman said.
KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding, is engaged in pig breeding and production, storage, processing and sale of grain and oilseeds. As of June 30, 2019, the land bank of the holding in Ukraine amounted to about 27,000 hectares.
Umanpyvo (Uman beer) LLC (Uman, Cherkasy region), the local producer of beer and soft drinks, will begin exporting its products to Belarus, and the first batch of 21.5 tonnes of products will be delivered in April.
“The first 21.5 tonnes of products will be delivered in April. We are constantly expanding the geography of exports. However, we only cooperate with partners who do not require changes in the recipe and increase expiry date of our products, as this contradicts the principles of Umanpyvo,” the company reported in a press release, citing the company’s CEO Ihor Kysil.
According to the company, Umanpyvo is trying to find new partners, negotiate, adapt packaging to the requirements of legislation of specific countries, and obtain all the necessary certificates during the quarantine period because of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Now the company is negotiating with potential new partners from Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Armenia, Germany, the United States, Canada, and also plans to expand its participation in the markets of Poland and Israel.
Umanpyvo representatives said that the company began to enter foreign markets in 2018. During this time, point deliveries were provided to ten countries, as well as regular export to Poland and Israel.
Umanpyvo (Uman beer) is a Ukrainian local producer of beer, cider and soft drinks with a closed production cycle.
Uman Brewery was founded in 1878.
Ovostar Union, a leading egg and egg products manufacturer in Ukraine, supplied 466,000 eggs or 40 tonnes to Israel in April, which is 0.003% of its monthly production volume, the company’s press service has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Israel is a country with high requirements for safety and quality of food, and we are proud that our products passed the control of the Israeli veterinary service, and we have the opportunity to supply eggs to this market. Israel is currently experiencing a shortage of this product, and, in addition to Ukraine, buys eggs in other European countries. On April 1, 2020, the Israeli Veterinary Service allowed producers of table eggs from Ukraine to export them to the country,” the company said.
Ovostar Union said that the company has been consistently implementing its export development strategy since 2015. Ovostar products are delivered to 55 countries, including to the markets of the EU, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa. The export volume in 2019 amounted to an average of 43 million units per month, in 2018 – 48 million units per month.
Ovostar, citing the State Statistics Service, reported that the production of industrial eggs in Ukraine is growing annually, and in January-February 2020, egg production by specialized enterprises increased 8.6% compared to the same period in 2019.
“At the same time, the volume of the domestic market, taking into account the significant share of eggs collected by households, remains almost unchanged. The egg is one of the key export goods of the agricultural sector of Ukraine. With an average monthly production of 780 million pieces by poultry farms in general, 190 million eggs are exported, making our country one of the key players in the global egg industry,” the company said.
Speaking about the company’s work during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Ukraine, Ovostar said that since the introduction of quarantine restrictions, the company, despite the additional costs of ensuring sanitary standards at enterprises, exchange rate fluctuations and rising cost of feed, has not changed selling prices for packaged products delivered to retail chains.
State Emergency Service needs several days to put out torf fires, which have been left after a fire in Chornobyl exclusion zone and around it, Emergency Minister Mykola Chechotkin told President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at a daily selection conference.
As the president’s press service reported, Zelensky receives a report about this every day so that to keep a situation under control.
Being asked by the president when precisely the fire in the exclusion zone is halted, Chechotkin said that there was no fire.
Zelensky was also informed that the day before, after 16.00 p.m. on April 13, the situation worsened due to a heavy wind, so the fire was difficult to control. Therefore, the Emergency Service sent more equipment and personnel to eliminate the fire. The rain in this area helped firefighters cope with the situation faster.
On the whole, yesterday fire brigade made 227 sorties, 500 tons of water were used. The radiation background in the exclusion zone remains normal and does not increase, said Chechotkin.
The Emergency Minister said that simultaneously with extinguishing of the fire in the exclusion zone, firefighters did not allow the fire to be transferred to military ammunition warehouses, Shelter and Vector facilities, the Chornobyl nuclear power distribution station, and spent nuclear fuel storage.
The National Police reported that on the eve near the two fires arsonists were detained, investigative actions are being carried out
“I’m very glad that the Verkhovna Rada yesterday voted to raise fines for arson and forest destruction. This is a quick and correct reaction of the authorities to serious challenges. Previous fines of several thousand hryvnias were too miserable punishment for such serious crimes,” Zelensky emphasized.
Ukrainian hoteliers predict the late start of the summer season in the country (not earlier than July), at the same time, country hotels will be able to adapt more quickly and start working after the long quarantine.
“Few people want to open summer hotels and beaches before July. The work of restaurants, entertainment centers will also depend on this. Events such as the Odesa Film Festival or concerts in the summer are unlikely to take place. Given the need to keep the pandemic from spreading, the start of the season in June is unlikely,” Managing Director of the five-star Kadorr Hotel Resort & Spa (Odesa) Olena Kalynovska said during the online conference entitled “Hotel Market in Times of Crisis.”
According to Director General of the five-star suburban complex Edem Resort Medical & Spa (the village of Bibrka near Lviv) Oleksiy Voloshyn, it will be easier for resort and country hotels to recover after quarantine ends.
“After quarantine, some hotels and restaurants will not open at all, some will open on the first day, some will decide to wait and open a little later. I believe that resort and country hotels will rise faster than business hotels that are more focused on foreigners and air travel,” he said.
Voloshyn said that the crisis will not hit hard, including Edem Resort Medical & Spa.
“My forecast is very positive: I think that by the end of April we will reach the indicators that we had. This summer we were provided with advance payments for about 40-50 events. These are mainly weddings and celebrations. Today, we don’t have any request for a refund,” the CEO said.
The owner of the family hotel complex Taor Karpaty (the village of Lastivka, Lviv region, 9 km from Skhidnytsia) Olena Sozanska also confirmed the guests’ interest in accommodation outside the city, including during the quarantine period.
“For many guests, this is an opportunity to escape from large cities with their families and protect themselves from infection while living in high-rise buildings. I think there is a demand for such self-isolation in the Carpathians,” she said.
According to Sozanska, the last guest left Taor Karpaty at the end of March, but the facility is ready to receive guests upon request with accommodation for at least five nights.
“We don’t want to close completely, because we are preparing for the summer season and then it will be difficult to start… We are ready to open, but we will receive guests who are willing to check in for a long time – for five and more days. That is, we do not accept booking for one or two days,” she said.
The Good Zone Hotel, a family country complex, is completely quarantined, except for technical services. According to Managing Director Serhiy Rudko, now the facility does not count on a quick resumption of operations.
“Country hotels will come to life a little earlier. Nevertheless, we previously determined two dates when the market would be ready to consume services: optimistic and pessimistic – June 15 and August 15… Removing the quarantine does not mean that demand will recover. Yes, there will probably be domestic tourism, but only in the medium plus segment and above,” he said.
