Fuel price developments for 2022-2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
In January-June this year, Ukraine increased exports of carbon steel semi-finished products in physical terms by 61.6% year-on-year to 888,016 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Tuesday, exports of carbon steel semi-finished products increased by 47.3% to $439.909 million in monetary terms.
The main exports were made to Bulgaria (35.49% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (11.74%) and Italy (8.56%).
In January-June 2024, Ukraine imported 5 tons of semi-finished products from Egypt for $5 thousand, while in January-June 2023, it imported 72 tons of semi-finished products from China for $133 thousand.
As reported, in 2023, Ukraine decreased exports of carbon steel semi-finished products in physical terms by 36.7% compared to 2022, to 1 million 203.454 thousand tons, while exports in monetary terms decreased by 48.9% to $608.516 million. The main exports were made to Bulgaria (36.66% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (23.01%), and Italy (9.60%).
In addition, in 2023, Ukraine imported 96 tons of semi-finished products from China (98.26%) and Turkey (1.74%) for $172 thousand.
In the 2023-2024 marketing year (MY, July 2023 – June 2024), Agro-Region Agricultural Group refused to use freight forwarders, which allowed it to save 15% of the cost of railroad logistics, said Mykola Muravyov, Deputy Director of Logistics.
“Refusing to use freight forwarders and organizing rail transportation professionally on our own is a strategically sound decision. Of course, there are contracts on a “today-tomorrow” basis that are profitable to fulfill with freight forwarders when our own railcars are fully utilized, but these are isolated cases that we try to avoid,” the company’s press service quoted him as saying.
According to Muravyov, Agro-Region currently operates 100 railcars, of which 25 hopper cars were received by the company as part of the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine grant program.
At the peak of the 2023/2024 MY season, Agro-Region had up to 500 wagons under its operational control, as large volumes of corn harvest and uncertainty about whether the grain corridor and Black Sea logistics would work stably forced the company to make sales more concentrated in certain months to minimize risks, the deputy director explained.
He added that in the 2024/2025 season, the plan is more balanced and sales are planned in equal parts throughout the year, which significantly reduces the need for the number of wagons.
“The main indicator of the economic efficiency of railcar use is railcar turnover. It is important to organize the work so that the cars stand as little as possible and move as much as possible, i.e. make the maximum possible number of turns during the reporting period. The more turns a railcar makes, the more grain will be transported,” said the Deputy Director for Logistics.
Regarding railcar rental, he clarified that its cost is charged on a daily basis and does not depend on whether the railcar is idle or in constant motion.
Agro-Region is a group of agricultural companies that cultivate 40 thousand hectares of agricultural land in Chernihiv, Khmelnytsky, Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions. It has three elevators in Boryspil, Myropil and Zavorychi with a total storage capacity of about 160 thousand tons. The agricultural holding grows corn, wheat, rapeseed, soybeans, barley, sunflower and oats. In 2022, Agro-Region exported an average of 250-300 thousand tons of grain per year and is trying to increase its exports through its own and farmers’ grain.
The ADONIS Medical Group (Kyiv) estimates the damage caused by the aggressor’s missile attack on Monday at almost $3 million, Vitaliy Girin, co-owner of the medical group, told Interfax-Ukraine.
He specified that the shelling damaged a branch of the clinic in the Dniprovskyi district of Kyiv near the Livoberezhna metro station.
Fundraising for the families of the killed employees is currently underway.
link to the bank https://send.monobank.ua/jar/bdmPmH8ua
Bank card number 5375 4112 2005 6423
As reported, seven people – five doctors and two patients – were killed in a missile attack by the aggressor on Monday in the ADONIS clinic department. The same building houses a branch of another private clinic, where no one was injured.
The department that was hit is now closed, and patients’ visits are being transferred to other centers of the medical group.
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, a shell of the Russian aggressor hit a private maternity hospital of the ADONIS clinic in Kyiv region.
ADONIS is a network of private medical centers for adults and children. ADONIS Private Clinic was founded over 25 years ago. Its network includes 7 branches in Kyiv and the region, including a rehabilitation center and a stem cell laboratory. In the branches of the clinic, doctors treat patients in 75 medical areas. In times of war, ADONIS branches with surgical units provide quality medical care to military and civilians.
Ukraine has already harvested more than 4 million tons of winter wheat, barley, rapeseed, and peas for the 2024 harvest, Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky said during a national telethon.
“This year’s harvest started two weeks later than the average due to the weather. We are currently harvesting winter barley, winter wheat and winter rapeseed. In addition, some regions have already started harvesting peas. If we look at the figures, we have already harvested more than 4 million tons as of today. The figure is increasing every day,” he said.
According to the acting minister, despite the shelling, particularly of the fields, in most cases the problems are being localized. Grain harvesting is proceeding at a very active pace, which makes it possible to forecast a grain harvest of about 56 million tons.
Mr. Vysotsky specified that the harvest of early (winter – IF-U) crops accounts for more than 10% of the total gross harvest. The largest share – 36 million tons – will be corn, which will be harvested in the fall.
Speaking about the yield of winter wheat and barley, the acting Minister stated that the yield is 5-7% lower than last year’s result due to weather conditions.
“Unfortunately, some regions are experiencing a record drought and lower yields. At the same time, in the western and central regions, the figures are higher than last year. So far, the forecast is within 5-7% less than the previous year, which, given all the challenges posed by the war, is a really good result,” he emphasized.
Mr. Vysotsky confirmed that the heat wave could have a negative impact on the growth of crops, particularly corn and soybeans. However, so far this trend is not widespread, which gives us hope for decent results.
The United Nations in Ukraine, in coordination with the government, has established a flexible Ukraine Community Recovery Fund (UCRF), which has already attracted $7.25 million for mine action.
“The fund is designed to support an inclusive, locally-driven approach that is fully aligned with the early recovery priorities identified in the third Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA-3),” the UN website says in a presentation of the fund’s mine action.
It is specified that the UCRF, established in November 2023, is expected to raise $300 million over five years. By the beginning of May this year, $11.74 million had been received, including $7.25 million for demining: Denmark – $5.76 million (DKK40 million) and South Korea – $1.25 million.
It is emphasized that mine action is a key condition for the restoration of housing, energy, social infrastructure and investment in local economic development at the community level. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has led to the fact that up to 30% of the country’s territory is likely to be contaminated with unexploded ordnance, landmines and cluster munitions.
According to UN materials, the first mine action project of the fund will be the construction of a logistics base for humanitarian demining for the SES. The feasibility study, designs for all necessary works and site preparation are estimated at $1.18 million. With separate funding for the second phase, construction can be completed by the second quarter of 2025.
It is expected that this facility will significantly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of SES demining operations throughout Ukraine and enable it to better defuse explosive ordnance in affected communities.
It is also planned to establish the position of a senior advisor on mine action and community recovery, who will advise all stakeholders on improving the effectiveness of mine action for affected communities.
It is noted that the UCRF Mine Action Window is a tool through which the UN will stimulate strategic mine action efforts, address gaps in needs in targeted communities and pilot innovative mine action initiatives.
According to the RDNA-3, an investment of at least $300 million per year over the next five years is required for explosive ordnance survey and clearance. To sustain this level of financial commitment, national and international partners will need to work together to maximize the effectiveness of traditional mine action approaches, while implementing cost-effective, high-impact solutions and considering private partnerships as a way forward.
“UCRF’s Mine Action Window is aligned with the Government of Ukraine’s National Mine Action Strategy and focuses on its three pillars – demining, mine action training and victim assistance.
The UCRF Secretariat is located in the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Kyiv.
