The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has raised more than $510 million from the private sector and international donors to support Ukrainian agricultural producers over two years as part of the Agricultural Resilience Initiative in Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine), with the U.S. government contributing another $350 million to the program, the donor organization said.
“AGRI-Ukraine, founded in July 2022, has already helped more than 14 thousand Ukrainian farmers, which is 32% of registered agricultural producers in the country, to obtain the necessary resources, such as seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products, access to storage facilities and financial resources. This made it possible to harvest crops and provide additional income of more than $90 million due to an increase in corn and sunflower production by 430 thousand tons,” the statement said.
When Russia tried to block the export of Ukrainian agricultural products through the Black Sea ports, AGRI-Ukraine helped to prepare alternative export routes, in particular through ports on the Danube River and land border crossings.
Thanks to these measures, 62 million tons of agricultural products were exported, bringing more than $17 billion to the Ukrainian economy, USAID stated.
According to the donor organization, contributions of $510 million provided by the private sector and international donors tripled the original target set by USAID.
“In 2023, AGRI-Ukraine expanded its circle of partners to include 26 Ukrainian agricultural companies, the American seed company Gowan Seed, international financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the governments of the Republic of Korea and Japan.
“USAID and its partners remain committed to supporting Ukraine’s agricultural sector and the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, which will help mitigate the global food crisis that is deepening as a result of the war unleashed by Russia,” the donor organization assured.
Ferrexpo, a mining company with assets in Ukraine, increased its total sales of iron ore products by 85% year-on-year to 3.8 million tons in January-June this year.
According to the company’s interim report, out of 3.8 million tons, 1.8 million tons were exported through Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Total commercial production in the first six months of 2024 increased by 75% to 3.7 million tons, including 3.3 million tons of pellets and 0.4 million tons of commercial concentrate.
C1’s production cost in 1H2024 increased to $79/tonne due to higher energy costs, expansion of mining activities, maintenance and repairs, partially offset by the positive effect of currency devaluation and cost-saving measures, the report explains.
It also notes that due to difficulties with electricity supply, the company is addressing this issue. At the same time, electricity costs in June increased by about $11/tonne at C1’s cost compared to the previous month. “C1 Group’s costs increased to $78.8/tonne in H1 2024 due to higher electricity prices offset by a slight devaluation of the hryvnia and the effect of a more favorable fixed exchange rate and increased production volumes,” the report explains.
Total distribution expenses in the reporting period increased to $148 million compared to $74 million in the first half of the previous year due to sales growth. And it is noted that maritime logistics routes are usually the cheapest and most efficient way to deliver the group’s products to its customers. As a result, sea sales increased by 1.7 million tons to 2.1 million tons in the first half of 2024 compared to 0.4 million tons in the same period of 2023.
In 1H2024, Ferrexpo reduced its capex by 5% year-on-year to $55 million from $58 million as a result of a 64.2% increase in revenue to $548.535 million from $334.010 million. EBITDA increased by 24.1% to $79.043 million from $63.685 million. Cash at the end of the first half of this year amounted to $115.131 million compared to $134.903 million at the end of June 2023.
In January-June 2024, Ferrexpo doubled its net profit compared to the same period last year to $55.490 million from $27.009 million. Pre-tax profit for the period amounted to $75.671 million, while in January-June 2023 it was $35.446 million.
In 2023, Ferrexpo reduced its capital investments by 37.1% to $101.247 million compared to $161.010 million in 2022 and $361 million in 2021.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. Ferrexpo owns 100% of shares in Poltava Mining, 100% of shares in Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% of shares in Bilanivsky Mining.
On the fourth day of the XXXIII Olympic Games in Paris, representatives of the Ukrainian national team competed in 9 sports, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine reported on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
It is reported that Ukraine ranks 35th in the medal standings with one bronze medal.
According to the results of the tournament day, Ukrainian athletes showed the following results.
Table tennis (singles): in the 1/16 finals, Margarita Pesotska lost in 5 games to Bernardet Soch from Romania (1:4) and ended her performance at the Games.
Badminton (singles): In the second round of the group stage, Polina Bugrova defeated Czech Teresa Schwabikova 1-2 (21:19, 19:21, 21:18). However, this is not enough to get out of the group.
Swimming: Denys Kesil finished 24th in the 200-meter butterfly qualifying round and did not qualify for the semifinals.
Archery: In the 1/32 finals, Mykhailo Usach lost to world ranking leader Marcus D’Almeida of Brazil (2:6).
Fencing (epee, team): in the 1/4 finals, Joan Fabi Bejura, Daria Varfolomeieva, Olena Kryvitska and Vlada Kharkiv failed to defeat the team from China (41:45).
In the tournament for the 5th-8th places, the Ukrainian team defeated Egypt (45:31) and lost to the second place in the world ranking, the South Korean team (38:45). Ukrainian fencers finished in 6th place at the Games.
Tennis: In the third round, Marta Kostiuk and Elina Svitolina played grueling three-set matches. While Marta’s match with Greece’s Maria Sakkari ended in a victory for the Ukrainian (6:4, 6:7 (5:7), 4:6), Elina was defeated by Barbara Krejcikova of the Czech Republic (6:7(5), 6:2 (4:6)).
Marta Kostiuk and Diana Yastremska withdrew from the doubles tournament in favor of the singles tournament, in which Marta is participating.
Rowing slalom (women’s single): Viktoriya Us finished 9th in the qualifiers and advanced to the semifinals.
Football (3rd round): Ukraine lost to Argentina (0:2) and ended its participation in the Olympics.
Boxing (weight category up to 80 kg): in the 1/8 finals, Oleksandr Khyzhnyak defeated ex-Ukrainian Philip Akilov, representing Hungary, by a split decision of the judges.
On July 31, Ukrainians will compete in 8 sports
Commercial real estate restoration projects account for up to 20% of Ukraine’s construction market, Andriy Ozeychuk, director of Rauta engineering and construction company, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Despite the military risks, the owners of most of the destroyed commercial real estate are investing in their restoration to restart their businesses, which allows companies to continue to operate efficiently. In particular, about 80% of commercial facilities destroyed during the full-scale invasion and located far from the war zone have already been rebuilt or are in the process of being rebuilt,” he said.
According to Mr. Ozeychuk, the figure is lower in the segment of industrial and warehouse buildings, at about 40%.
“For most of these facilities, the owners are looking for financing,” explained the Rauta director.
According to him, among the restoration projects Rauta was involved in were the Retroville shopping center (Kyiv), the production shop of the Chernihiv Automobile Plant, and the Novus supermarket in Bucha (Kyiv region).
Rauta’s experience in restoring commercial real estate shows that often an additional requirement of investors during the restoration of facilities is to improve their energy efficiency and architectural attractiveness, which allows them to optimize costs during the operation of buildings.
According to the World Bank, as of February 2024, Ukraine’s reconstruction needs were estimated at $486 billion, of which about 25% were commercial real estate.
Rauta is a leading provider of reliable construction solutions in Ukraine and the European Union.
According to Opendatabot, Rauta Group LLC was registered in Ukraine in 2014. Its authorized capital is UAH 388 thousand, and its revenue for 2022 is UAH 102.396 million.
Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works of Zaporizhzhia has overhauled continuous pickling unit (CPU) No. 4 in the Cold Rolling Shop (CRS) to avoid production downtime.
According to the company’s press release on Tuesday, Metinvest Promservice specialists and rolling mill operators replaced a number of parts of the unit. The repair also included replacing the drive axle of the trolley at the coil preparation area before it is fed to the BTA-4 line.
“An important effect of this repair is preventive maintenance of the equipment, prevention of unit downtime and ensuring stable operation,” the company said in a statement.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are in great demand among consumers both in the domestic market and in many countries around the world.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Ukraine currently feeds 400 million people in the world, and the country has the capacity to feed 600 million, said Penny Pritzker, the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.
“Ukraine’s agriculture feeds 400 million people in the world, and it has the capacity to feed 600 million. That’s a huge opportunity, and now that the Black Sea is functioning, you’re seeing huge exports of not only agricultural products, but also metals, which has also helped to increase government revenues and helped to grow the economy,” she said at a briefing in Kyiv, answering questions about sectors that are ready for investment now.
The Special Representative emphasized that the energy sector is another major area of opportunity, as well as construction, transportation and logistics, and technology.
In addition, she said, critical minerals are another industry that offers great opportunities in Ukraine. Pritzker named defense industry and technology as two other areas.
