Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has raised its GDP growth forecast for 2025, but expects the economic upturn to slow down as a result of the country’s central bank’s tight monetary policy.
The GDP growth forecast for the current year has been raised to 2.5% from the 2.4% expected in May, and for 2026 it has been lowered to 2.4% from 2.5%.
The forecasts do not take into account the consequences of Washington’s introduction of 50% tariffs on all imports from Brazil, the Ministry of Finance notes. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that these tariffs would take effect on August 1.
“The tariffs are unlikely to have a significant impact on GDP growth in 2025, although certain industries may suffer quite severely,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
In the first quarter of this year, Brazil’s GDP increased by 1.4% compared to the previous three months, the highest in three quarters. GDP growth in annual terms was 2.9%.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center made a video analysis of the prospects for the Ukrainian and global economies. For more details, see the video at https://youtu.be/kQsH3lUvMKo?si=F4IOLdLuVbYmEh5P
Bosnian investment group ASA Group has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Zito Backa flour mill in Kula, Serbia. This was stated in the company’s official press release published on Friday.
According to ASA Group, the deal makes its subsidiary ASA Trading a leader in Serbia’s grain sector in terms of grain trading volume, storage capacity, and processing capacity.
“This is a logical continuation of our expansion strategy in key sectors of the region. Zito Backa has more than a century of tradition, reliable quality, and infrastructure that matches our international ambitions,” said ASA Group CEO Eldin Hadzislimovic.
The company emphasized that it is building on its previous experience in asset integration, including the purchase of the Zitoprodukt mill in Bačka Palanka in 2018. According to ASA Group representatives, the new acquisition will complement the ecosystem in the consumer goods segment and strengthen the group’s export potential in Southeast Europe.
In addition to the grain sector, the holding company is actively developing projects in other industries, including date and vegetable oil production in Morocco and Turkey, as well as renewable energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (solar power plants in Bosanski Petrovac).
Zito Backa is one of Serbia’s oldest flour milling companies. It was founded over 100 years ago. In 2013, the plant in Kula was modernized: capacity was increased to 220 tons of flour per day (in wheat equivalent) and a 50,000-ton grain storage facility was built. The company is known for its high-quality flour and stable supplies to domestic and export markets.
https://t.me/relocationrs/1170
Italian food packaging manufacturer GUALA PACK S.P.A is investing EUR12 million in the construction of a complex of industrial buildings with a total area of approximately 10,000 square meters in the Belaya Tserkov industrial park, according to Dmitry Kiselevsky, deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development.
“The Bila Tserkva industrial park has just signed an agreement in Rome with Gualapack Ukraine, a subsidiary of the Italian company GUALA PACK S.P.A., for the construction of a complex of industrial buildings with a total area of about 10,000 square meters. The factory, which until recently operated in Sumy and was partially restarted on leased premises in the Ternopil region, will be relocated to the new premises,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.
The plant manufactures packaging for the food industry. The company employs about 300 people with an average salary of 30,000 hryvnia.
According to Kysilevsky, the construction and connection of utilities will take about 12 months. All buildings will be built from scratch, taking into account the company’s infrastructure needs.
According to him, IP “Bila Tserkva” currently has 19 residents.
As reported, in April 2025, the Finnish company Peikko Group Corporation announced the commissioning of a plant for the production of concrete connections and composite structures at IP “Bila Tserkva.”
Other residents include Unilever, InTiCa Systems, Peikko, and Pripravka, which relocated from Kharkiv, as well as the Nova Poshta logistics depot, the Volytsia-Agro grain storage complex, the Plank Electrotechnic electrical fittings factory, and Virastar, a manufacturer of high-altitude equipment for construction work.
Belaya Tserkov and Belaya Tserkov 2 were included in the Register of Industrial Parks in 2018.
Gualapack Ukraine LLC has been operating in Ukraine since 2013 and is a leading manufacturer of flexible packaging for various types of production.
According to the company’s financial report on its website, in 2024, consolidated net profit decreased more than 10 times compared to the previous year, to UAH 13.05 million, with revenue growing by 3.6% to UAH 1 billion 145 million.
In May 2023, the company acquired 100% of Gualapack Poland (Poland) (until October 2023 – ALIKO-TRADING ЅроІка z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością) with the aim of further expanding its trading activities in the Polish market.
Kazakhstan plans to ban the export of non-ferrous metals by all modes of transport until December 31, 2025, according to the press service of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic.
The press service specified that the initiative was considered on Friday at a meeting of the interdepartmental commission on foreign trade policy and participation in international economic organizations.
“The interdepartmental commission supported the introduction of a ban on the export of non-ferrous metal blanks and ingots from Kazakhstan by all modes of transport until December 31, 2025. The ban applies to unprocessed copper, aluminum slabs and billets, and lead ingots,” the statement said.
As explained by the press service, this measure is aimed at “providing the domestic market with strategic raw materials, preventing the export of low value-added products, and stimulating the processing of non-ferrous metals within the country.”
In addition, the meeting decided to reduce the export customs duty on gallium, which previously stood at 10%, to zero. “The measure is aimed at stimulating gallium production in Kazakhstan and developing export potential,” the press service said.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry clarified that gallium has not been produced in the country in recent years, but Kazakhstan has the necessary resource potential to enter this market and can occupy a niche in the global supply chain.
“This, in turn, will create opportunities for growth in export activity, increase foreign exchange earnings, and expand the presence of Kazakhstani producers in foreign markets,” the ministry said.
Currently, Kazakhstan has a ban on the export of ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap and waste from the republic. It was first introduced on May 6, 2022, and has been extended several times, most recently in April this year.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center created a video analysis of the potential for mineral extraction in Ukraine. You can learn more about the prospects for rare earth element extraction in Ukraine and the country’s mineral resources in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHeBfpywpQc&t
This amount of revenue is UAH 37.6 billion, or 13.4% more than in the same period of 2024. Among the main budget-forming goods that provided the largest revenues in January-June 2025, the following are in the lead:
– petroleum products – UAH 71.1 billion;
– passenger and freight vehicles – UAH 30.3 billion;
– petroleum gases – UAH 9.3 billion;
– mineral fertilizers – UAH 6.8 billion;
– fungicides, herbicides – UAH 6.0 billion;
– telephone sets – UAH 4.1 billion;
– cigars, cigarillos, and cigarettes – UAH 4.0 billion;
– coal – UAH 3.9 billion.
The main budget-forming goods, whose import growth ensured a significant increase in customs revenues in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, were:
– petroleum products – by UAH 8.2 billion;
– petroleum gases – by UAH 4.8 billion;
– passenger cars – by 3.7 billion UAH;
– cigars, cigarettes, cigarillos – by 3.2 billion UAH;
– coal – by 2.3 billion UAH;
– agricultural machinery and equipment – by 1.1 billion UAH;
– electricity – by 1.1 billion UAH.
In turn, customs revenues were affected by a steady increase in the share of customs duties assessed on the import of certain goods into Ukraine in accordance with the legally approved list of exemptions. Thus, the total amount of customs duty exemptions on imports of goods in January-June of this year amounted to UAH 140.12 billion, which is 42% or UAH 41.61 billion more than in January-June 2024.
In June 2025, Express Insurance paid out UAH 42.3 million, which is 3.6% less than in the same period last year, according to the insurer’s website. This included UAH 33.8 million paid under comprehensive insurance contracts and UAH 8.5 million under compulsory civil liability insurance (OSAGO).
In June 2025, the company settled 726 insurance claims under CASCO and OSAGO contracts. Of these, 535 claims were for CASCO, and another 191 were for compulsory civil liability insurance.
Incidents under CASCO contracts in June mainly concerned traffic accidents (89%), unlawful actions of third parties (9%), falling objects, as well as fires and explosions caused by military actions (2%).
For example, in the capital, five customers reported damage to their cars as a result of falling debris from missiles and UAVs. The total amount of compensation for these events amounted to UAH 394,000, with an average settlement period of 15 days.
Most insurance events related to traffic accidents occurred in Kyiv and the surrounding region – 289 (61% of traffic accidents) – a decrease of 8% compared to May. The Company’s experts also recorded a decrease in traffic accidents in June in the Lviv (-19 compared to May), Cherkasy (-12), Odessa (-9), and Dnipropetrovsk (-4) regions. However, in the Zakarpattia region, the number of insurance claims for traffic accidents increased by 57% in June, to 11.
As for MTPL insurance, in more than 58% of cases, the victims reported the accident with the police, and another 42% used the Europrotocol procedure. The largest payment in June to victims for property damage under MTPL policies amounted to UAH 170,000 due to a traffic accident in Lutsk, and UAH 109,400 for health damage to victims of a traffic accident in the Sumy region.
Express Insurance was founded in 2008 with the participation of the Ukrainian automotive market leader, UKRAVTO GROUP. The company specializes in auto insurance. The company is represented in more than 60 sales outlets throughout Ukraine and is actively expanding its network of partner service stations. Today, the number of service station partners exceeds 100.
