In 2023, dairy farms in the European Union produced 160.8 million tons of raw milk, which is 0.8 million tons more than in 2022 and 15.8 million tons more than in 2013, according to a study by Eurostat.
According to it, most of the milk produced in the EU is used for butter and cheese production. Thus, in 2023, 149.3 million tons of raw milk were supplied to dairy plants, which was used to produce a number of fresh and ready-made dairy products.
In turn, EU dairies produced 22.0 million tons of drinking milk and 7.8 million tons of fermented milk products in 2023. At the same time, 58.2 million tons of whole milk and 17.4 million tons of skim milk were used to produce 10.6 million tons of cheese. Another 45.4 million tons of whole milk was used to produce 2.3 million tons of butter, the study says.
Germany became the leader in the production of milk and dairy products in the European Union, accounting for 19% of the total production of drinking milk. It was also a leading producer of fermented milk products (27%), butter (20%) and cheese (22%).
Spain was the second largest producer of drinking milk (15% of the EU total), followed by France (13%). The Netherlands was the second largest producer of fermented milk products (17%), followed by Poland (10%).
France was the second largest producer of both butter and cheese (18% of the EU total for each product). Ireland was third in butter production (13%) and Italy was third in cheese production (13%).
On November 13, as part of the COP29 summit, a ceremony was held to sign the Agreement on Strategic Partnership in the Development and Transmission of Green Energy between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
In his speech at the event, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that renewable energy is not an economic goal, but a contribution to the future, the result of a sense of responsibility to future generations.
The environmental importance of the project was particularly emphasized. The energy to be transmitted is wind and solar energy, a renewable and clean resource that will reduce the impact on the climate.
Thus, the parties support joint efforts to protect the climate under the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
It was noted that the signatory countries, having significant renewable energy resources, can make a significant contribution to the global energy transition.
Touching upon the efforts of Uzbekistan to develop a green economy, the Leader of Uzbekistan focused on the key aspects of large-scale work in this direction.
It was noted that about two gigawatts of solar and wind generation capacity is being commissioned annually in the country. In addition, an additional 2.6 gigawatts of renewable generation and 300 megawatts of energy storage systems will be connected to the grid by the end of this year.
By 2030, it is planned to increase the share of renewable energy sources to 40 percent, as well as to create 4.2 gigawatts of energy storage systems.
It was expressed that the economic effect of this project will be felt by all its participants.
The importance of accelerating the project implementation, including the establishment of a joint venture, development and approval of technical documentation and other procedures, was emphasized.
In conclusion, President Mirziyoyev reaffirmed Uzbekistan’s commitment to the joint implementation of this regional project.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested approximately EUR5bn in Ukraine, of which approximately EUR2bn is aimed at energy projects, including in the field of renewable energy, said Olga Yeremina, associate director, senior banker in the bank’s energy department.
“Since the beginning of the war, the bank has invested about EUR5 billion in Ukraine, of which roughly EUR2 billion is aimed at energy projects,” Yeremina said during the ReBuild Ukraine international conference in Warsaw, quoted in a release on the European-Ukrainian Energy Agency’s website on Tuesday.
According to her, the EBRD is open for new investments in the RES sector in Ukraine, noting the improvement of the regulatory environment and harmonization of reforms with EU requirements, but there are problems with the sustainability of projects, including in terms of guaranteed buyback of electricity, uncertainty of revenue streams and instability of the electricity market.
For his part, as noted in the release, EUEA board member, GOLAW partner Oleksandr Melnyk presented the concept of the Market Risk Guarantee Fund initiated by the agency together with the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association.
“The Fund, which will be established by international financial institutions, will protect private RES companies from fluctuations in the electricity market by ensuring a minimum electricity price,” Melnyk explained.
According to Yeremina, the Fund could become the main driver of investment, contributing to the sustainability of Ukraine’s energy system and accelerating the implementation of projects from RES.
The release points out that according to the National Energy and Climate Plan, by 2030 Ukraine should double the current 10 GW of RES capacity, which will be facilitated, among other things, by the Market Risk Guarantee Fund.
As reported in September 2024, the EBRD has provided EUR4.6bn to the Ukrainian economy since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including at least EUR1bn to energy companies Ukrenergo, Naftogaz and Ukrhydroenergo.
In June, it was reported that the German company GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment and the EBRD are creating a joint venture GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment Ukraine to implement projects for the construction of 500 MW power plants in Ukraine over the next three to five years.
GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment was to receive a EUR5 million loan from DEG (Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft) for its commitment in Ukraine through the ImpactConnect program initiated and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Planning for the construction of the first solar park is due to start in the fall of 2024.
This is the EBRD’s first equity agreement in Ukraine’s energy sector since the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation.
Where are drivers most often fined?
More than 3.2 million traffic violations were detected by auto-fixation cameras in 9 months of 2024, according to the Patrol Police Department.
This is 1.7 times more than in the same period last year and a record for the last 5 years. 99% of violations were related to speeding. More than 2 million more violations were recorded by police officers.
3,278,982 traffic violations were detected by auto-fixation cameras in Ukraine this year. This is 1.7 times more than in the same period last year. In total, this is a record number of violations for the entire period of operation of the autofixation cameras since June 2020. Almost all the violations recorded by the cameras concerned speeding. Only 1% – 16,833 violations – were related to stopping or driving in the public transport lane.
The highest number of violations per month was recorded this year in September – 520,247.
Currently, there are 308 auto-fixation cameras in Ukraine in 19 regions of Ukraine and the capital. 20% of all cameras are located in Kyiv (30) and the region (32). There are 44 cameras in Lviv region, 13 of which are in Lviv and 31 in the region. At the same time, in the regions close to the frontline (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions), the monitoring devices are not connected.
For comparison, on the eve of the full-scale invasion, 246 devices in 24 cities and 15 regions recorded violations.
In addition to automatic recording, police officers issued 2,088,433 traffic tickets for traffic violations. Drivers were fined most often in Lviv region: 220,161 tickets, followed by Kyiv (180,719) and Odesa (134,836).
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/autofines-2024
How banks’ profits and taxes have changed this year
UAH 117.63 billion of profit was earned by 62 Ukrainian banks after taxes for 9 months of 2024, according to the NBU. This is 7% more than last year. Privat continues to lead the way in terms of earnings, accounting for 41% of the total profit of banks. MTB Bank showed the best growth – 13 times over the year.
Ukrainian banks earned UAH 117.63 billion in profit, net of taxes, in the first 9 months of 2024. Despite the tax rate that increased from 18% to 25% this year, this is 7% more than last year: UAH 109.85 billion.
63% of the profit among all financial institutions went to state-owned banks. This is mainly due to the earnings of PrivatBank: UAH 48.35 billion or 41% of the total profit of all banks. Over the year, Privat’s profit grew by 11%.
In September, another Ukrainian bank became state-owned, Motor Bank. Currently, 2 out of 7 state-owned banks are unprofitable
Banks with foreign capital accounted for 23% of the total profit – UAH 27.32 billion. Only 1 out of 14 foreign banks currently suffered losses of UAH 139.57 million – Pravex Bank.
Raiffeisen remains the leader in the group: UAH 6.15 billion of profit (the same as in the same period last year).
Private banks made UAH 16.25 billion in profit. Their profits increased by 22% over the year. FUIB accounted for one third of the group’s earnings – UAH 5.18 billion. Over the year, the bank’s profit decreased by 9%.
MTB Bank had the largest increase in profit among all banks: by 13 times, up to UAH 603.59 million.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/banks-2024-9
The Supervisory Board of the insurance company Krajina (Kyiv) at the meeting on November 14 appointed Roman Yaroshenko, who had been the head of the supervisory board of Asvio Bank JSC for the last five years, as the head of the supervisory board of the financial institution. According to the message of the insurance company in the information disclosure system of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, at the same meeting the Supervisory Board, in connection with the appointment of a new head, terminated the powers of Elyana Pustovalova in this position.
IC “Krajina” has been operating in the insurance market of Ukraine since 1994. It has licenses for 23 types of insurance.
On October 17, 2024 the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has granted permission to a natural person – citizen of Ukraine to acquire control over IC “Krajina”.
According to the data of NCSSM as of Q2 2024 the shareholders of the company were the joint-stock company “Closed non-diversified venture corporate investment fund ‘Kiwi’-76,2%, ZNVKIF ‘Sirius’ and Oleg Zimin 7,491% each.
Asvio Bank (formerly Privatinvest Bank) was founded in 1991. According to the NSCM as of Q2 2024, the bank’s shareholders were Vyacheslav Suprunenko (69.9016%), his brother Alexander Suprunenko (20%), and Andriy Zaets (7.693%).
According to the NBU, as of June 1, 2024, Asvio Bank ranked 42nd among 63 Ukrainian banks in terms of assets – UAH 3.06 billion. Net profit of the financial institution for 2023 amounted to UAH 22.37 million.
