FAO supported the initiative of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food to build small vegetable storages with capacity from 20 to 1000 tons, first of all – in the frontline areas of Kharkiv and Mykolayiv regions, said the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval.
“Today in Ukraine up to 35% of grown products are lost due to lack of proper storage conditions. We are solving this problem! Together with FAO we launch the construction of modern vegetable storages with capacity from 20 to 1000 tons, first of all – in the frontline territories of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions,” he wrote in his Telegram channel.
The Minister explained that each small storage facility gives the opportunity to work about 150 small farmers. Around it, new jobs and cooperations are created. In addition, crop losses are reduced, which is critical for food security.
Kowal added that once the small storage projects are up and running, construction will begin on large multi-section facilities that will be used not only by farmers, but also by businesses, supermarkets and social institutions – hospitals, schools, etc.
“My goal as a minister is for these vegetable storage facilities to become the basis for the development of the cooperative movement among agrarians,” the minister emphasized.
In addition, the ministry team discussed with FAO Regional Program Manager for Europe and Central Asia Raimund Yele and Acting Head of FAO Office in Ukraine Mohammed Azuka a new project to support agrarians in the production of biogas and electricity from agro-biomass.
“The development of bioenergy is not only energy independence, but also an opportunity for additional income for farmers,” summarized the Minister.
construction of vegetable storage facilities, FAO, MINISTRY OF AGRARIAN POLICY
PJSC “Ukrnafta” on March 24 announced a tender for Medical Insurance of employees.
As reported in the Prozoro system, the expected cost is UAH 182.980 mln.
Applications for participation in the tender will be accepted until April 1.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) increased sales of foreign currency on the interbank market last week by $98.4 million, or 18%, to $643.6 million, according to the regulator’s statistics on its website.
According to the statistics, the central bank has not bought any foreign currency over the past two weeks.
Last week, the National Bank bought the most foreign currency since the beginning of March, but it is still less than in February this year and roughly equal to the amount of foreign currency purchased in the same week in March last year.
Data released by the regulator during this time show that the negative balance between the volume of foreign currency purchases by households and the volume of foreign currency sales narrowed last week from $26.89 million on Monday to $20.24 on Thursday.
The official hryvnia exchange rate weakened by 2 kopecks to 41.5277 UAH/$1 over the week.
The same was the case on the cash market, with a narrow spread of 41.46-41.56 UAH/$1.
‘Since the beginning of March, the Ukrainian foreign exchange market has undergone significant changes in the dynamics of the dollar. While in February the dollar was gradually strengthening, in early March it began to decline, followed by a gradual recovery after 10 March,’ analysts of the currency exchange market operator KYT Group commented on the market situation in their March review.
According to them, the Ukrainian cash FX market was affected by a decline in demand for the dollar following a large-scale import of cash currency in February: according to the NBU, $1.316 billion in cash dollars and the equivalent of $450 million in euros were imported into Ukraine.
The NBU’s interventions help to smooth out exchange rate volatility and maintain a controlled situation on the market, but the increase in budget spending in March traditionally creates additional demand for foreign currency, which may affect the correction of the hryvnia exchange rate, KYT Group experts added. They expect that in the short term, over the next 1-3 weeks, the dollar is likely to remain in the range of UAH 41.30-42.30/$1.
As reported, the NBU’s net interventions in February fell to $3bn from $3.75bn in January.
In February 2025, Ukrainians’ purchases of foreign currency exceeded sales by $0.95bn, which is also down from $1.48bn in January this year.
Ukraine’s international reserves as of 1 March 2025, according to preliminary data, amounted to $40.15 billion, which is 6.7%, or $2.86 billion, less than a month ago.
The Cabinet of Ministers has set the average annual rate of the official hryvnia/US dollar exchange rate in the 2025 state budget at 45 UAH/$1.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/economic/1058312.html
Rice prices fell after India lifted the last of its existing restrictions on rice exports.
The price per ton of benchmark white Thai rice, which was $669 in January 2024, had fallen to $405 by last week, the Financial Times said. The decision to lift the restrictions was prompted by India’s desire to boost agricultural and food exports to boost farmers’ incomes amid a general economic slowdown in the country.
According to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the plan is to increase shipments to $100 billion by 2030 from $48.15 billion in 2023-2024.
“Last year, about $50 billion worth of products were exported from India,” the minister had said earlier. – I hope to see a triple-digit figure, the $100 billion mark.”
Export restrictions were imposed in the country in 2022. As a result of the decision, the price of white Thai rice jumped to its highest since 2008. India began easing the restrictive measures in September last year. India’s rice exports, which stood at 14 million tons in 2023, could reach a record 21.5 million tons between September 2024 and October 2025, according to S&P Global estimates.
The return of Indian rice will negatively impact exporters from Pakistan, which has gained market shares in Indonesia and East Africa amid declining supplies from India. The US Department of Agriculture estimates rice exports from Pakistan for the 12 months to May 2025 at just 5.8 million tons, down 11.4% from the same period a year earlier.
India is a leading supplier of milled rice, which is in high demand in African countries. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, Indian supplies accounted for more than 60% of rice imports of 17 African countries and more than 80% of imports of nine, including Somalia, in 2022.
