Ukraine in 2022 sold industrial products (goods, services) worth 2.814 trillion UAH, which is 21.5% less than in 2021 (3.584 trillion UAH), including outside the country – on 564.097 billion UAH, the State Statistics Service said on Friday.
According to her data, in December 2022 compared to December 2021, the turnover of products sold in the extractive and processing industries decreased by 38.1%. Sales of the extractive industry in December-2022 compared to December-2021 decreased by 40.2%, processing industry – by 37.7%.
Sales in the extractive industry in December-2022 compared to November-2022 increased by 7.8%, in the processing industry – by 5.0%.
In total sales of industrial products in 2022 the largest share came from processing industry (53.6%), supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (31.1%), mining and quarrying (14.1%), metallurgical production (8.6%).
As reported, Ukraine in 2021 sold industrial products (goods, services) in the amount of 3.584 trillion UAH.
Ukraine expects 45 million tons of grain and leguminous crops in 2023, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.
“Ukraine is having its second sowing campaign under martial law. We are helping our agrarians to carry it out successfully again. According to preliminary estimates, we expect 45 million tons of grain and leguminous crops. The wheat harvest is expected to be 16.6 million tons,” he said at a government meeting on Friday.
According to the prime minister, with such a harvest, the domestic consumption of Ukrainians is about 5 million tons.
“That is, like last year, Ukraine will be fully provided with grain and food,” Shmygal stressed.
Rafael Goroyan, the owner and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Prometheus Group, talks about the risks and prospects of the Ukrainian agricultural sector, exporters’ adaptation to war conditions and the support that the industry needs from the state.
Prometheus Group has more than 20 years of experience on the grain market of Ukraine and is rapidly developing. The year 2022 was a huge challenge for the export-oriented agribusiness, but the company is overcoming the challenges.
How has the full-scale Russian invasion affected agricultural exports and your company in particular?
The war practically wiped out exports. But we adapted and, while the ports were closed, we used road and rail. Thanks to these channels we exported almost 50,000 tons a month. After the opening of the grain corridor we resumed export through the Bosphorus, increased our monthly exports to 80,000-100,000 tons and plan to reach 150,000 tons.
Before the war we had an annual turnover of 1.5 million tons and this year we aimed to export 2 million tons. It is clear that we will not reach those figures, but we believe it is possible to export 1 million tons.
Did your business incur losses because of the war?
We had eight grain elevators under occupation. As of January four of them remained in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhya region. And the four that were liberated from the enemy, were significantly damaged by shelling, robbery and require significant repairs. One of them will have to be rebuilt from scratch.
Do agro-exporters feel any support from the state in such a difficult situation?
The agrarian sector remains one of the few industries that work and we feel great but multidirectional attention from the government. On the one hand, modern patriotically-minded government representatives are working to provide subsidies, cheap loans, etc.
On the other hand, there is the interest of corrupt officials because of whom VAT refunds are very difficult in Ukraine. In particular, the Prometheus Company has accumulated hundreds of millions of unrecovered VAT. We are struggling and publicly report this fact. Because if this practice continues, the export potential of the agricultural sector will be destroyed.
In other words, the forecasts for the harvest and agricultural export in the current conditions are disappointing?
This year our country harvested about 60mln tonnes of crops against 120mln tonnes last season. Next year we will probably gather 40 million tons and export will fall to 20 million tons. This is a consequence of the fact that now it is not profitable for the agro-producers to sow because of the traders’ work stoppage. The latter suffer from corruptive discount on the price and long downtime (up to a month or more) of ships in the Bosphorus, because every day of downtime costs $15,000.
Then the infrastructure business, which has been built up for 30 years (elevators, ports, logistics facilities), will suffer huge losses and these assets will fall in value.
Let me remind you that the export-oriented agro-sector in Ukraine was not built in a day. In 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR, the potential of the Ukrainian agriculture amounted to 15-20 million tons of grains, and export was almost non-existent. By investing into new technologies, seeds, agricultural machinery, construction of elevators, logistics capacities, we reached 120 million tons, and the country was ready for 140-160 million tons. It is important not to miss these 30 years of progress.
What can the government do to prevent the development of a negative scenario?
The participation of the state is super important. One of the directions of support should be the establishment of fast VAT refunds. In addition, farmers need to be provided with subsidies and affordable loans. Financial assistance should be available to small, medium and large agricultural producers.
It is also necessary to remove bureaucratic obstacles as much as possible. We must realize that not only our military potential is important for the future of Ukraine, but also its agricultural sector which has become a global brand in 30 years. If we leave the market, other countries will take our share. Winning the world market again will be harder and more expensive than holding on to our position now.
What can be the positive scenario of development with the support of the agricultural sector by the state?
To do this, the transnational companies which used to export grains from our country but had to leave because of corruption during VAT refunds should be returned to the market. Support for small and medium-sized farmers is necessary. If our partners see the fields planted and the government involved, we will not lose the international market.
But the impression is that the government doesn’t care about business. The country closes up to 10,000 companies a month, and the outflow of 10 million people is acutely felt. Because of personnel problems, in order to find and keep specialists, we already offer European salaries. Therefore, we should remind ourselves that business is a necessary rear. Without a capable economy and provision, the country will not be able to fight effectively.
How should this agricultural season be for your company?
This year will be a period of opportunity for us. If the state does not support small farmers, Prometheus will have to expand its land bank. In other words, we will increase our production in order to preserve our export potential.
The war is an unfavorable period for investments. However, despite this, how can we assess the prospect of capital investment in the Ukrainian agricultural sector?
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, huge amounts of money were injected into the global economy. As a consequence, the multiplier for some US companies has reached 100, while Ukrainian companies do not have more than 3. That means that our country, with a low multiplier, has a chance to reach high profits after victory.
For those who believe in Ukraine’s victory investments into Ukrainian business should already be very attractive. Because $30-50 billion a year or even more will be coming into Ukraine for post-war recovery, thanks to which Ukraine can become a leader in terms of profitability after victory.
The Swiss pharmaceutical company Acino has become a partner in a project to provide the frontline area and destroyed hospitals in the regions with state-of-the-art mobile hospitals to provide emergency care to the wounded.
Acino shipped 1600 packages of medicines from its own product portfolio to the pilot medical complex on wheels for a total of UAH 150 thousand. In particular, these are drugs used in neurology, psychiatry, cardiology and therapy.
The project was initiated by the Charitable Foundation for Reconstruction and Development of Ukraine, which plans to purchase 52 mobile hospitals. The cost of one such medical complex on wheels is 240 thousand euros. In total, 14 organizations both in Ukraine and abroad have joined the project.
The company plans to provide medicines to the next mobile hospitals within the framework of this project. This was stated by Yevhen Zaika, CEO of Acino in Ukraine, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Pharma Start, during the presentation of the project at the end of 2022 at the Parkovy Exhibition and Convention Center, Kyiv.
A mobile hospital is a specialized development that is a full-fledged hospital on wheels, equipped with the most modern medical equipment:
The mobile hospital has increased cross-country ability and its own generator, which allows it to operate completely autonomously. Two teams of medics can work in the mobile hospital at the same time and can save up to 100 lives a day, based on the “golden hour” principle. If necessary and subject to sufficient medical staffing, the hospital can provide care to more patients.
Acino has been supporting the people and the state since the first days of the full-scale war. Since February 24, the company has donated over UAH 67 million for humanitarian purposes. This includes more than 200 thousand packs of medicines to hospitals and hospitals and more than UAH 8 million to support the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and charitable organizations. At the beginning of 2023, Acino was recognized by the President of Ukraine for supporting Ukraine and the Ukrainian people at a crucial moment.
ACINO, ARTEM HONCHARENKO, CHARITABLE FOUNDATION FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINE, YEVHEN ZAIKA
At the end of 2022, 6 Ukrainian junior squash players are in the top 10 in their age categories.
In 2022, the Ukrainian sport, despite the war, not only survived, but also continued to develop. Our athletes in this difficult time continue to please us with decent results in the international arena. And if in such popular sports as soccer and boxing we managed to maintain the pre-war development potential, many lesser-known disciplines encountered significant difficulties last year. We can mention here the cancellation or postponement of competitions, as well as the disruption of the training process.
Squash, on the whole, successfully coped with the challenges of 2022, maintaining a positive momentum of development. In August, on the courts of the capital fitness center “SPORT LIFE” there was a charity tournament “Zenit Ukraine Open 2022”. Athletes from Romania, the United States, Moldova, Lithuania as well as players from many regions of Ukraine competed for awards in five categories.
The organizers of the largest squash tournament in Ukraine are planning to hold it this year as well.
“We hope that our Zenit tournament will return this year to the sunny Odessa from which it had to move to Kiev due to the military action,” said one of the organizers of this squash tournament, Maxim Urakin.
Very good results on the courts of international tournaments are shown by Ukrainian juniors. In particular, six Ukrainian athletes are in the top 10 in their age categories. Dmytro Scherbakov, who currently occupies the second position in the world ranking of young squash players BU19, was able to achieve the greatest result last year.
You can find more details about the positions of Ukrainian juniors in the world squash rankings in the infographic:
As Dmitry Shcherbakov, the head of racquet sports of the SportLife network, stated, in 2022 our juniors proved that they are one of the strongest in Europe.
“At the team championship of Europe-2022 among juniors to 17 years, our squash players got the bronze medal, leaving behind only England and France,” – Shcherbakov said.
Vyacheslav Savelov, children and juniors squash coach, thanked everyone who supported the sport in 2022.
“Many thanks to sponsors, patrons, coaches, parents of our children and all those who supported and supported Ukrainian squash and our athletes during this difficult time,” – he stressed.
The high results of our athletes in the youth and adult ratings give hope for the successful development of squash in Ukraine in 2023.
Ukraine’s foreign trade turnover in January-February 2023 totaled $16.6 billion, down 30% from the same period in 2022, the State Customs Service said. “In January-February this year, Ukraine imported goods worth $10.1 billion, exported goods worth $6.5 billion,” the State Customs Service said in a press release.
In January, the agency reported imports of $4.8 billion and exports of $3.1 billion. Thus, in February, imports rose to $5.1 billion and exports – to $3.4 billion, while the negative balance of trade remained at $1.7 billion.
As stated by the State Customs Service, taxable imports in January-February amounted to $8.1 billion, or 80% of total imports of goods.
According to published information, the tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports was $0.44/kg, which is 53% higher than during the same period last year. Most of the goods were imported from China – $1.7 billion, Poland – $1 billion and Turkey – $760 million.
As noted, during the two months of 2023, the most goods were exported to Poland – $953 million, Romania – $609 million and China – $605 million.
According to press release, the main import categories were: machinery, equipment and transport – $2.9 billion, 17.6 billion UAH were paid to the budget, or 27% of customs duties, fuel and energy products – $2.6 billion, 16.2 billion UAH were paid, or 25%, chemical products – $1.7 billion, 11.5 billion UAH were paid, or 18%.
The top three most exported commodities from Ukraine were foodstuffs – $4.3 billion, metals and metal products – $568 million, machinery, equipment and transport – $521 million.
The State Customs Service summed up that during the customs clearance of exports of goods for which the export duty was set, the budget was paid 223.3 million UAH.
