Logistical constraints related to the war are leading to a redistribution of corn imports to the European Union in favor of alternative suppliers, with Ukraine’s share in the 2025/26 season declining significantly, according to a review by S&P Global Commodity Insights (Platts).
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence Global Trade Analytics Suite (GTAS), corn imports to the EU in the 2024/25 marketing year amounted to 18.79 million tons, compared to 19.83 million tons in 2023/24, and GTAS forecasts an increase in imports to 21 million tons in 2025/26.
S&P notes that, on average over five years, Ukraine remained the dominant supplier of corn to the EU, supplying about 9.7 million tons per year (53.5% of imports), but in the 2025/26 marketing year (July-June), the structure of supplies changed: Brazil’s share grew to 40%, the US’s share rose to 28.3%, while Ukraine’s share fell to 22.4%.
Market participants reported delays in receiving contracted Ukrainian corn, which led buyers to switch more actively to Brazil and the US. Market participants cited the EU-Mercosur trade agenda as an additional factor in choosing the origin of products.
Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy remain among the largest corn importers in the EU. According to the European Commission, Spain imported 7.2 million tons in 2024/25 MY (7.6 million tons in 2023/24), the Netherlands imported 3.3 million tons (2.6 million tons), and Italy imported 2.8 million tons (2.1 million tons).
At the same time, Spain, as a price-sensitive market, has recently switched to more competitively priced American corn, while Ukrainian corn was relatively expensive amid high demand from Turkey, the review says.
Platts price benchmarks for February 3: feed corn ex-works Tarragona (Spain) – €213/t with loading between February 3 and March 5, Ukrainian corn – $223/t FOB POC (Odessa-Pivdenny-Chernomorsk ports) with loading between March 3 and 17, Brazilian corn – $210.81/t FOB Santos with loading in August.
The Cabinet of Ministers has set new deadlines for foreigners with expired residence permits to apply for exchange of the document.
According to the decree № 141 from February 5, it is established that foreigners and stateless persons, except for citizens of the Russian Federation, who have a residence permit, the term of application for the exchange of which came after February 24, 2022, should within 90 days from the date of entry into force of this decree to apply for the exchange of such a residence permit.
It is determined that this Decree shall enter into force three months after its publication.
In addition, the State Migration Service is instructed within three months from the date of entry into force of this decree to provide information and awareness-raising work aimed at informing foreigners and stateless persons about the procedure and terms of exchange of temporary residence certificates, the deadline for applying for the exchange of which came after February 24, 2022.
The State Agency for Control over Gambling and Lotteries of Ukraine (PlayCity) has decided to fine FC Dynamo (Kyiv) for violating the requirements of the legislation on advertising in the field of organization and conduct of gambling for the amount of UAH 5.2m. According to the regulator’s document dated January 26, the violation was recorded on January 16.
At the same time, the soccer club has the right to appeal the decision in court within three months, the document says.
In December, it was reported that PlayCity has decided to block more than 2,500 illegal online casino sites in the six months since the start of operations, and the amount of fines imposed on bloggers and media for illegal promotion of gambling exceeded UAH 52 million.
In addition, more than 280 pages in social networks were deleted for posting illegal gambling advertisements.
In late December, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, PlayCity head Gennadiy Novikov noted that in the future it is planned to differentiate fines for violations in the field of gambling advertising by the degree of public risk, in particular, the fine for advertising illegal business will be higher.
The state agency fined 4.8 million UAH for illegal gambling advertising by the Telegram channel Truha Ukraine, Ukrainian sports media Tribuna.com (registered as Sport Segodnya LLC) and online media dev.ua (Dev Ukraine LLC). The media, in their turn, announced their intention to appeal this decision. There are no court rulings on these cases yet.
Since February 2025, the state policy in the field of gambling is formed and coordinated by the Ministry of Finance. On March 21, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to create a new central executive body – PlayCity agency (PlayCity), which is officially subordinate to the Mincifra and replaced the previous regulator – the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRAIL) from April 1.
Financial monitoring is transforming from a formal regulatory obligation into a full-fledged business function, and manual AML processes create operational and reputational risks for companies, while automation allows embedding risk management into the digital business architecture, according to Oksana Gubina, CEO of AML.point.
According to her assessment, the growth in transaction volumes, increasing complexity of financial products and strengthening regulatory requirements increase the risks of using fragmented systems and so-called “Excel-AML”, increasing dependence on the human factor and the likelihood of errors.
Gubina notes that automation in AML should not mean speeding up individual checks, but rather integrating financial monitoring into core systems and building a unified customer profile that allows a shift to proactive, data-driven risk management.
She also pointed to a shift from a product-centric to a client-centric approach in AML, as risk is linked to the profile and behavior of a client who may be using multiple products at the same time.
According to the author, customer-centric financial monitoring is scheduled to be discussed in more detail on February 18, 2026 at IFC Bankir’s Banking Forum: DIGITAL TRENDS 2026 conference, where she will be a speaker.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/blog/1142350.html
According to Serbian Economist, Chinese manufacturer of humanoid robots Agibot plans to start mass production in Serbia in 2026 or 2027, the company’s European director William Shi said after a presentation in Belgrade.
The project will be realized together with a strategic partner, Minth Holdings (a Hong Kong-listed auto component manufacturer). In the first phase, 1,000-2,000 humanoid robots are planned to be produced in Serbia.
Shi noted that robot production includes “hardware” and ‘software’ and the company will need a local contractor in Serbia to create AI data and train models, which effectively means forming a separate segment of the “data industry” around the project.
Agibot was founded in 2023 in Shanghai; its line of humanoid robots includes the Yuanzheng, Lingxi and Genies series. Minth has been present in Serbia since 2018, has facilities in Loznica and Šabac, and provides 3,500 jobs.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2220
In October-December 2025, Elworthy JSC, a manufacturer of sowing and tillage equipment based in Kropyvnytskyi, reduced its revenue by 17.3% compared to the same period in 2024, to almost UAH 121 million.
According to the company’s interim report for the fourth quarter of last year, exports amounted to UAH 36.8 million (30.4% of revenue), while a year ago this figure was UAH 37.9 million (25.9%).
According to the interim report, in the fourth quarter, the plant produced 149 seeders for UAH 61.6 million (153 seeders for UAH 49.6 million in October-December 2014), four cultivators for UAH 1.2 million (72 units for UAH 17.5 million), 45 harrows for UAH 10.5 million (36 units for UAH 7.9 million), and 13 sprayers for UAH 11.3 million (14 units for UAH 8 million).
The main customers were domestic companies such as Agroresurs, Technotorg, Minetech, as well as Agropiese TGR Grup (Moldova) and Galuotas (Lithuania). The main export markets are Kazakhstan, Moldova, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Romania.
The company sells its equipment through its own dealer network, which currently includes more than 35 dealerships.
Among the company’s main competitors are, in particular, the Ukrainian Veles-Agro, Belotserkovmaz, Favorit, Promagroleasing-Ukraine, Remsyntez, Agrotech, Agromash Kalyna, LKMZ, Boguslavska Agricultural Machinery, and Maschio Gaspardo (Italy).
“Elworthy reminds that the company’s 2025 business plan envisaged sales of UAH 712 million (25% more than a year ago) and break-even operations.
Elvorti JSC, a part of the Elvorti Group owned by businessman Pavlo Stutman, specializes in the production of sowing and tillage equipment: seeders for sowing grain and row crops, cultivators for continuous and inter-row tillage, and disk harrows for resource-saving tillage.
As of early 2026, the company employed 372 people.
As reported, the year before last, the company reduced its loss by more than three times compared to 2023, to UAH 27.6 million, and increased its net income by 16.3% to UAH 570.5 million.
In January-September 2025, the company increased its loss by 27.8% compared to January-September 2024 to UAH 15.9 million, while net income increased by 18.5% to UAH 502.8 million.
