The European Commission may reconsider the regime of autonomous trade measures for Ukraine, which was introduced after the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression, extended twice for a year and now expires on June 5 this year, European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said.
“Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs), which provide for traditional liberalization, will remain in force until June 5. I would like to assure you that after the end of the ATC, we are fully committed to ensuring a smooth transition and rapid implementation of mutual liberalization of trade in agri-food products,” he said at a joint meeting of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission on Monday.
“As you know, this will be a very delicate task for us, given the sensitivity of some products for the markets of our member states and, of course, the concerns of our farmers,” added Šefčovič, who in the new EC composition oversees the direction of trade.
As reported, the EU Council on April 8 approved a decision to extend the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU until June 5, 2025. At the same time, the EU strengthened the protection of sensitive agricultural products of member states, obliging the European Commission to impose tariff quotas on poultry meat, eggs, sugar, oats, corn, cereals and honey from Ukraine, in case of exceeding the arithmetic average of the volumes imported in the second half of 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has supported more than 200,000 rural families and more than 15,000 farmers and agricultural enterprises over the three years of full-scale war, providing seeds, grants, generators, financial assistance and other critical resources to help them maintain production, adapt to new realities and continue to work despite all the challenges, FAO said.
“Ukraine is an agrarian country, but today farmers and rural residents are forced to fight not only for their harvests, but also for their own survival. The war has destroyed infrastructure and complicated access to fertilizers, machinery, and markets. Almost 60% of households say that their main need is to restore their livelihoods,” FAO emphasized on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
FAO said that in 2025 it intends to support 406,900 people to meet these challenges, including providing seeds to farm families, helping to restore irrigation systems and grain storage facilities, providing livestock with fodder and covering urgent food needs. To implement this support, FAO needs $53 million.
“Ukraine’s agricultural sector is not only a matter of food security within the country, but also a key factor in global stability. But above all, it is people. Rural families who work hard every day to provide themselves with food, take care of their livestock and maintain their farms even in the most difficult conditions. By supporting them, we are not just helping them to restore their livelihoods – we are saving lives and giving them the opportunity to build a future,” FAO summarized and assured that they would continue to work in Ukraine.
Imports of transformers, inductors and chokes to Ukraine in January 2025 increased almost sixfold compared to the same month in 2024 to $127.9 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service (SCS).
According to the statistics, in January this year, these products were mainly imported from China – for $116.07 million (90.75% of total imports of these goods), while a year earlier, transformers and chokes were imported from this country for $12.9 million (59.7%). That is, their imports increased almost ninefold last month.
They were also imported from Turkey (by $4.5 million) and the United States (by $1.75 million).
In January 2024, the Czech Republic ($1.9 million) and Italy (almost $1 million) were among the largest importing countries, in addition to China.
At the same time, Ukraine exported transformers, inductors, and chokes worth $2.05 million in January 2025, compared to $1.24 million in January 2024, mainly to Hungary, Germany, and Azerbaijan.
According to the State Customs Service, imports of transformers, inductors and chokes to Ukraine more than doubled in 2024 compared to 2023, to $596.11 million, while China imported 2.5 times more of them, by $400.48 million.
The volume of cattle slaughter in Ukraine in January 2025 amounted to 13.8 thousand tons, which is 13 thousand tons less (-49%) compared to December 2024 and 100 tons less (-1%) compared to January 2024, the Association of Milk Producers (AMP) reported, citing data from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
The industry association noted that in January 2025, enterprises produced 51% of beef from the total slaughter volume, and 49% in households.
According to preliminary data of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in January 2025, the volume of cattle slaughter at enterprises amounted to 7.1 thousand tons, which is 1 thousand tons more (+8%) than in December 2024 and 1 thousand tons more (+9%) than in January 2024.
Instead, in households, the volume of cattle slaughter in January 2025 amounted to 6.7 thousand tons, which is 14 thousand tons less (-67%) compared to December and 1 thousand tons less (-9%) compared to January 2024.
The total slaughter of farm animals, not only cattle, but also pigs, sheep, and birds in January 2025 amounted to 279.9 thousand tons, which is almost equal to the previous year (-0.1%).
According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in January 2025, the volume of live animal sales for slaughter increased most significantly at agricultural enterprises in the Zakarpattia region (+200%), Zaporizhzhia region (+100%), Kharkiv region (+63%), Rivne region (+50%), Mykolaiv region (+50%) compared to the previous year.
Most of the animals were sold for slaughter at agricultural enterprises in Vinnytsia (51.9 thousand tons), Cherkasy (35.1 thousand tons), Dnipropetrovs’k (31.9 thousand tons), Lviv (15.3 thousand tons) and Kyiv (11.4 thousand tons) regions.
Forecast of unemployment rate in Ukraine according to methodology of international labor organization until 2025
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
In 2022-24, omnichannel retailer Foxtrot expanded its network from 90 to 124 stores, the company’s press service reports.
“Since February 24, 2022, the company has chosen a development strategy: to continue working, support the economy, organize the processes inherent in peacetime, taking into account the security component of wartime, and help the defenders of Ukraine. The events of the last three years have only strengthened the company, made us more flexible, adaptive to daily challenges and accelerated the process of implementing changes and innovations as much as possible,” said Oleksiy Zozulya, CEO of the retailer.
“Foxtrot continued to expand and renovate its existing stores (including after enemy missile attacks), paying attention to barrier-free and inclusive environment. Thus, while the company operated 90 stores in March 2022, as of the beginning of 2025, the chain has 124 retail outlets in 66 cities, including Kherson, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. The company was the first in the electronics market to launch a sign language service for deaf people, which operates in 30 stores on Foxtrot.ua and continues to scale. In addition, as part of the development of barrier-free accessibility, the company has started adapting the retail space in its stores.
The company has paid almost UAH 1.9 billion in taxes since the beginning of the full-scale war, including almost UAH 1 billion in 2024. Considerable attention is paid to e-commerce, with the turnover of the Foxtrot.ua online store growing by 42% last year.
The retailer’s most significant social initiative is systematic direct assistance to the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Currently, the total amount of equipment donated by Foxtrot to the defenders is over UAH 43.5 million, which includes 8882 units of equipment. As part of the campaign, Foxtrot together with the Aerorazvidka NGO raised almost UAH 700 thousand to train the military in IT tools. To support children affected by Russian aggression, the Give a Piece of Goodness campaign continues. As part of the project “Eat to Support Indestructible Animals”, we purchased UAH 2 million worth of food, medicines, and kennels for residents of 63 shelters.
“Foxtrot is one of the largest omnichannel retail chains in Ukraine in terms of the number of stores and sales of electronics and household appliances. The company operates 124 stores in 66 cities, including the frontline cities of Kherson, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, an online platform Foxtrot.ua and a mobile application of the same name.
According to Opendatabot, the net income of FTD-Retail LLC (Kyiv), which develops the chain, amounted to UAH 9.9 billion in 9M2024, with a net loss of UAH 110 million.
The Foxtrot brand is developed by the Foxtrot group of companies. The co-founders are Valery Makovetsky and Gennady Vykhodtsev.
