Zaporozhkoks, one of Ukraine’s largest coke and chemical producers and part of Metinvest Group, increased its blast furnace coke output by 2% year-on-year to 655.3 thousand tons from 542.5 thousand tons in January-September this year.
According to the company, 71.3 thousand tons of coke were produced in September.
As reported, Zaporozhkoks increased its blast furnace coke output by 16% in 2023 compared to 2022, up to 856.8 thousand tons from 737.4 thousand tons.
“Zaporozhkoks produces about 10% of coke in Ukraine and has a full technological cycle of coke products processing. It also produces coke oven gas and pitch coke.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining group of companies. Its major shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
The state-owned enterprise Medical Procurement of Ukraine (MPU) has procured 35 items of medical devices worth UAH 750 million for orthopedic, traumatology and neurosurgery.
According to the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine in its press release, all contracts were concluded for three years, and the procurement was carried out “with great savings”.
It is specified, in particular, that according to the results of the tender, the Ministry of Healthcare purchased 286,134 Kirschner spokes, which are used in the treatment of bones in case of fractures, for UAH 6.5 million against UAH 20.3 million of the expected cost. The medical devices were purchased from ABM Technologies LLC.
Savings on the purchase of different types of plates, which were purchased by the Ministry of Health for UAH 44.9 million, amounted to more than UAH 150 million. The plates will be supplied by Brookley-KO LLC.”
According to Oleh Klets, acting CEO of MZU, quoted in the report, the first deliveries will take place in late fall. Currently, the state-owned enterprise is waiting for the Ministry of Health to clarify what sizes hospitals need for certain products.
The national marketplace chain Allo has opened one new store in Kyiv and renovated 23 outlets in 10 cities, the retailer’s press service reports.
The new store in Kyiv, in the Kvadrat shopping center (20 Hnata Yury St.), was opened on August 30, with an area of more than 100 square meters.
In the third quarter, 23 stores were renovated in ten cities. The range of small appliances was expanded in the reformatted and renovated stores. In addition, some stores now offer gaming products in Hator, Razer and Logitech brand zones.
In July, two flagship Alo MAX stores were reformatted in Lavina Mall in Kyiv and Victory Plaza in Kryvyi Rih. Four Allo stores in Odesa were also renovated – at 45 Hretska Street, 76/1 Akademika Korolova Street, 14 Akademika Glushka Avenue, and 4 Semafornyi Lane. Stores in Vinnytsia at 4 Kotsiubynskoho Street to 11 Mykolaichuk Street, Kremenchuk at 3-A Nebesna Sotnya Street, and Yuzhne at 34/1 Hryhorivskoho Desantu Avenue were remodeled. The company also carried out repair work in stores damaged by rocket attacks in Kyiv at 1-C Y. Illyenko Street and Dnipro at 36 Nezalezhnosti Street.
In early August, Allo renovated the chain’s only store in Vyshneve and reformatted the store at 3-B Bazhana Avenue in Kyiv. Allo stores in Dnipro at 8-A Nauky Ave. and 3 Heroiv Ave. in Odesa at 41/1 Akademika Filatova St., and the only store in Chornomorsk at 5/178-N Pervogo Maya St. were also re-equipped.
In September, the company reformatted the only Allo store in Brovary at 11, Nezalezhnosti boulevard. 11, as well as Allo in Dnipro at 52 D. Yavornytskoho Ave. Two Alo stores in Dnipro were re-equipped – in the Express shopping center and TERRA shopping center. The changes also affected Alo MAX in the Dnipro’s MOST-City shopping center: it now has functional areas for household appliances and TVs, an expanded range of gaming products and additional areas for PlayStation and children’s goods.
Most of the stores operate in the absence of electricity: you can buy modern, innovative devices in them, paying for them in cash or by card, and recharge your gadgets if necessary.
Allo was established in 1998. As of the end of September, the omnichannel network of Allo has 295 stores in more than 100 cities of Ukraine.
According to Opendatabot, the shareholders of Allo LLC are Dniproinvest 2016 PE (95.19%), Dmytro Derevytskyi (3.6%), and Maksym Raskin (1.21%). Derevytskyi is listed as the ultimate beneficiary.
Specialized experts believe that during the war, English becomes critically important for Ukraine, especially in the military and corporate spheres.
“We are convinced that English is a key tool for improving the effectiveness of Ukraine’s interaction with international partners, particularly in the military sphere, where the correct understanding and use of Western weapons requires a thorough knowledge of English,” said Rostyslav Romaniuk, director of Empire English School, during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
He also emphasized the need for the Ukrainian military to have a high level of English.
“We see that every word matters on the battlefield, and any language mistake can lead to disastrous consequences,” he said.
Rostyslav Romaniuk emphasized that English is becoming necessary not only for the use of Western weapons, but also for communication with foreign instructors and military partners. Specialized organizations emphasize that this need should be taken into account when developing educational programs for the military.
Empire English School, which has been providing English language training services in Ukraine for more than seven years, has faced new challenges due to the war. The demand for corporate English training has grown significantly, as most companies are forced to adapt to new conditions and do business internationally.
Specialized organizations believe that English has become an integral part of the development strategy of Ukrainian companies, especially after the transition to remote work and the growth of international relations.
“Ukraine’s educational system is facing the problem of the outflow of qualified personnel. We are seeing a significant shortage of English language teachers as many specialists were forced to leave the country due to the war. This creates challenges for the education system and needs to be addressed immediately,” emphasized the director of Empire English School.
The expert also drew attention to the role of English in the psychological rehabilitation of veterans.
“Learning English can be a powerful tool not only for professional development, but also for rehabilitation of veterans, helping them to adapt to civilian life after the war,” said Romaniuk.
This position is supported by specialized organizations, which believe that language learning will contribute not only to the professional development of veterans, but also to their integration into society.
Rostyslav Romaniuk emphasized that knowledge of English is critical for the future of Ukraine, especially in the context of the country’s post-war recovery.
“English opens the door for Ukraine to international markets, attracting investment and global cooperation, which is crucial for economic recovery,” said Mr. Romaniuk.
Ukraine has exported 10.647 mln tonnes of grains and pulses since the beginning of the 2024-2024 marketing year (July-June) as of October 2, 197 mln tonnes of which were shipped on the first day of the month, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported, citing the State Customs Service.
According to the report, as of the same date last year, the total shipments were estimated at 6.676 mln tons, including 7 thsd tonnes in October.
In terms of crops, since the beginning of the current season, 6.207 mln tons of wheat have been exported (a year earlier, the figure was 3.342 mln tons), barley – 1.325 mln tons (622 thsd tonnes), rye – 7.5 thsd tonnes (0.7 thsd tonnes), corn – 2.849 mln tons (2.689 mln tons).
The total exports of Ukrainian flour since the beginning of the season as of October 2 are estimated at 19.9 thsd tonnes (36.4 thsd tonnes), including 17.7 thsd tonnes (35.4 thsd tonnes) of wheat.
Despite the negative expectations, Ukraine retained its leadership in the global sunflower oil market in 2023-2024 marketing year (MY), accounting for 42% of the global production, while Russia accounted for 29%, UkrAgroConsult, a Ukrainian information and analytical agency, reports.
The analysts referred to the forecast of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to which in 2023-2024 MY the forecast for Ukraine’s gross sunflower production due to higher yields was increased by 27% to 15.5 mln tonnes compared to 2022-2023 MY, and for Russia – by 5% to 17.1 mln tonnes.
The high exports of sunflower oil were achieved due to the increase in harvest. Stable operation of the sea corridor is becoming an important point for Ukraine in realization of the export potential: the country increased exports by 9% compared to 2022-2023 MY, Russia – by 10%, experts noted.
They noted that since the beginning of the war, the markets for sunflower oil have been redistributed. For Ukraine, the European Union has become the key sales destination. In addition, Turkey has reoriented its purchases from Russia to Ukraine, while India and China continued to increase Russian imports.
According to analysts’ forecast, 2024-2025 MY will be a bad harvest year for sunflower. According to the current USDA forecast for September 2024, the global sunflower production is estimated to be the lowest in the last four seasons due to unfavorable weather conditions in the key producing countries – 50.6 mln tonnes, which is 10% less than the previous season. At the same time, Ukraine is expected to reduce the production of this crop by 19% to 12.5 mln tonnes compared to 2023-2024 MY, and Russia – by 6% to 16.0 mln tonnes.
“Ukraine will retain the leadership, but the share in the global production will decrease to 41% vs. 42% in 2023/24 MY in favor of Russia – 33% vs. 29%. The forecast for Russia seems quite optimistic,” UkrAgroConsult stated.