The German Ministry of Defense has announced that it is preparing a new “winter package” of aid for Ukraine worth about 1 billion euros, which will include additional Patriot and IRIS-T air defense systems, as well as Gepard self-propelled air defense systems.
“Germany is preparing a second winter package for Ukraine: to protect critical infrastructure and provide further support, Germany is providing additional air defense with Patriot, IRIS-T SLM and SLS worth approximately 1 billion euros, as well as three Gepard self-propelled air defense systems,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement on X.
The Defense Ministry also reported that in the next few weeks, 10 more Leopard1 A5 main battle tanks, 15 protected transport vehicles and almost 20 protected medical vehicles will arrive in Ukraine.
“Germany will continue to support Ukraine with what it needs most – air defense, ammunition and tanks,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.
Ukraine continues sowing winter crops, which have already been planted on 3.7 million hectares compared to 2.992 million hectares a week earlier, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported.
According to the report, over the past week, farmers sowed 2583 thousand hectares of winter crops (764.7 thousand hectares a week earlier), of which wheat was sown on 2352 thousand hectares (1.743 million hectares), barley – 171 thousand hectares (109 thousand hectares), rye – 60 thousand hectares (53.6 thousand hectares).
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy noted that the agrarians of Sumy region are leading in sowing of winter crops – 97% of the forecast. The leaders in wheat sowing are Dnipropetrovska oblast with 271.3 thou hectares, barley – Mykolaivska oblast with 25 thou hectares, rye – Volynska oblast with 13 thou hectares.
Winter rapeseed sowing is nearing completion in all regions. The area under the crop is 1.111 mln ha (1.087 mln ha), which is 91.7% of the plan. Dnipropetrovs’k and Odesa regions are the leaders in sowing of winter rapeseed with 117.3 thou hectares and 103.6 thou hectares respectively.
As reported with reference to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the vast majority of farmers do not plan to significantly change the area under winter crops in 2024 compared to the previous season.
In January-September of this year, Ukraine increased exports of sunflower oil by 40.3% in physical terms compared to the same period last year – up to 4 mln 94.4 thsd tonnes, but in monetary terms it decreased by 5.8% to $3 bln 724.01 mln, which amounted to 13.72% of total Ukrainian exports.
According to the statistics released by the State Customs Service, the main exports were to Turkey (18.44% of shipments in monetary terms), Romania (16.59%) and China (12.15%).
In the first nine months of this year, the exports of soybean oil increased by 20.2% to 207.1 thsd tonnes, but the revenue from these exports also decreased by 21.7% to $181.24 mln.
The top 3 importing countries of Ukrainian soybean oil are Poland (69.1% of supplies in monetary terms), Germany (5.19%) and the United Arab Emirates (4.67%).
Exports of rapeseed and mustard oil in January-September 2023 reached 244.71 thsd tonnes, up 9.3 times compared to January-September 2022. The sales of this type of oil brought Ukraine $205.72 mln, which is 5.8 times more than last year.
The key export countries of rapeseed and mustard oil were China (28.61% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (20.08%) and Romania (15.22%).
In the first nine months of this year, margarine exports from Ukraine decreased both in physical terms (by 36.2%) and in monetary terms (by 37.5%) to 11.57 thousand tons worth $24.64 million.
At the same time, exports under article 1518 “fats, oils and vegetable oils subjected to chemical modification” increased by 70.4% in physical terms to 12.60 thousand tons, and by 16.2% in monetary terms to $11.22 million.
As for imports, the largest item in this segment of foreign trade remained the import of palm oil, which in January-September this year decreased both in physical (by 21.6%) and monetary terms (by 32.5%): 64.41 thousand tons of this type of oil were supplied to Ukraine, worth $82.46 million.
At the same time, imports of margarine to the country during the reporting period slightly decreased in physical terms by 0.3% to 9.07 thsd tonnes, but increased in monetary terms by 7.3% to $32.43 mln.
Finally, code 1516 “fats, oils, vegetable oils, chemically transformed without processing” closes the top three imports in this category – 11.23 thousand tons of products were supplied for $25.63 million, while in 9 months of last year there were 9.54 thousand tons for $26.62 million.
According to the State Customs Service, in the 12 months of pre-war 2021, exports of sunflower oil brought Ukraine $6.39 billion, soybean oil – $295.22 million, rapeseed and mustard oil – $222.56 million.
The main buyers of Ukrainian sunflower oil in 2021 were India (29.83% in monetary terms), China (14.36%), and the Netherlands (10.49%); soybean oil – Poland (66.42%), China (14.52%), and Germany (5.06%); rapeseed and mustard oil – the Netherlands (41.38%), Poland (30.42%), and China (12.49%).
An intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of demining was signed on Tuesday in Zagreb by First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko and Vice Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Croatia Davor Božinović in the presence of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine reports.
“Ukraine is very grateful to the Croatian people and the Croatian government for the political, military, financial and humanitarian support that our country and Ukrainians have received since the beginning of the large-scale invasion… And today, Ukraine needs Croatia’s experience in demining and reconstruction and rehabilitation,” Svyrydenko said during a conversation with Plenkovic.
She also thanked Croatia for the programs aimed at rehabilitation of Ukrainian defenders and children of Ukrainian soldiers.
Speaking during the signing of the agreement on cooperation in the field of demining, Svyrydenko noted that Croatian-made demining machines are already operating in Ukrainian fields, and in the summer, Ukrainian and Croatian manufacturers agreed to localize the production of such machines in Ukraine.
“Today we are strengthening our cooperation. The intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in demining launches a new stage of cooperation between governments, experts, demining specialists, and manufacturers of both countries,” said the First Deputy Prime Minister.
The agreement envisages cooperation in the following areas: non-technical and technical survey, demining, and territory clearance; public education on the risks associated with explosive ordnance; assistance to mine victims; and development of a regulatory framework and standard procedures in the field of mine action.
In addition, it provides for trainings for specialists, exchange of experience among experts and teachers in training demining specialists, transfer of expert knowledge and best practices; exchange of knowledge on the production of protective equipment, mine detection and demining equipment, and training and certification of mine-sniffing dogs.
During the meeting in Zagreb, the parties also discussed strengthening cooperation between the countries in the economic sphere and in the area of reconstruction.
The first grain port in Poland will be built in Gdansk, in particular for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Robert Telus said at a meeting with voters in Przysus, polskieradio24.pl reports.
According to the report, RSSI (Agri-Food Investment Company – IF-U) has signed an agreement with the Port of Gdansk to implement this project.
“On Tuesday, the state budget enterprise RSSI signed an agreement with the Port of Gdansk to create a grain port. We have a grain port,” the minister said, adding that this is an extremely important event.
He noted that the grain port will improve the transportation of grain, in particular from Ukraine.
The creation of further “solidarity corridors” that would allow the transportation of Ukrainian grain by sea is very important, he explained, while emphasizing that the lack of agricultural supplies to African countries is beneficial to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As reported, on September 15, the European Commission announced that it would not extend restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to five neighboring EU countries (Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia) under certain conditions that will help avoid a new sharp increase in supplies.
The restrictions were introduced on May 2 and applied to imports of wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and corn. These five Eastern European EU member states argued that Ukrainian agricultural products, when imported duty-free into the EU, were being deposited in their countries and were harming their local agricultural sectors.
After the restrictions were lifted, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia imposed unilateral bans. Poland expanded the list of banned products to include rapeseed cake and meal, as well as corn bran, wheat flour, and derivatives. Hungary extended the list to 24 commodity items.
Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the WTO, accusing Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia of discriminatory treatment of its agricultural products.
Ukraine is currently negotiating the introduction of a mechanism for licensing the export of Ukrainian agricultural products with mandatory verification in each of the five countries.
The year 2023 has become a challenge for Ukraine in many ways. And the labor market is no exception. Before the Russian invasion, unemployment in Ukraine was 10%, compared to 7% in the EU. The main areas of employment in Ukraine were trade, agriculture, industry, education, and healthcare.
However, a substantial part of the southeastern regions of Ukraine became a battlefield one way or another, depriving millions of usual life and their jobs. Jobs were cut by almost a third in the first months of the war. Fortunately, the situation began to improve by the end of 2022 with the unemployment rate falling to 15.5%, according to the International Labor Organization.
Among the many factors that affected the labor market, mobilization became one of the most significant ones. 83% of companies in Ukraine were involved in mobilization, and in half of those, every tenth employee has been mobilized. The percentage was even higher for highly skilled professionals such as engineers, IT specialists, electricians, etc.
Nevertheless, competition in the market remains high. On average, 4 applicants per vacancy, according to Ukraine’s State Employment Service, rising to 8 per vacancy in trade. The most serious competition is observed in the financial and insurance sectors, reaching up to 24 applicants per vacancy.
According to the Ukraine’s State Employment Service, one of the main challenges in the labor market is a skill mismatch and certain disproportions between the demand and supply of labor.
Currently, manual workers are in the highest demand. However, among the registered unemployed, 43% have a higher education on average, exceeding 60% in some large cities.
Despite the challenges, Ukraine does not lose hope for the future. UkraineInvest actively attracts and supports investment projects, raising the country’s economy to a new level. It is worth emphasizing that the war is not an obstacle to investment activity in the country. The businesses that start planning their projects now are likely to become pioneers in the recovery after the victory.
At this decisive time, WhatJobs, an international job search platform already operating in 66 countries, plans to launch in Ukraine at the end of 2023. WhatJobs launch in Ukraine is a major factor in the labor market recovery. WhatJobs could play a pivotal role in mitigating unemployment and aiding career shifts, especially during such demanding times in Ukraine. Founded in 2011 by Alex Paterson as AdView, the jobs-platform became one of the fastest growing international job search platforms. By offering a robust platform that not only lists job opportunities but also provides a knowledge hub through its WhatJobs News platform, started in UK last year, it will ensure that Ukrainians are well-informed about global and local labor market trends, ensuring they can make astute career choices even amidst the chaos. This could particularly be beneficial in tailoring educational and skill-development programs to better match available job opportunities, ultimately addressing the skill mismatch problem to a certain degree.
Moreover, the global perspective of WhatJobs can serve as a lens through which Ukrainians can observe and adapt to international employment trends, potentially finding opportunities abroad. Furthermore, international companies can leverage WhatJobs to discover talent within Ukraine, thus supporting remote working and potentially bringing more investment into the country, indirectly aiding its economy.
Analysing the background, it’s noticeable that the company’s global development is of great importance to WhatJobs. The opening of an office in Italy in 2021 and the appointment of a new leader, Heiko Zeichner, symbolized big changes. The company demonstrated its strategic interest in markets outside the UK, especially in Ukraine, where the war has dynamically shifted the employment ecosystem. WhatJobs perfectly suits the war-torn Ukrainian labor market and unemployment challenges as it connects job seekers and employers from over 30 countries, that may positively influence on the Ukraine’s employment sector.
The year 2023 and upcoming 2024 brings new challenges and hopes for Ukraine. Despite the difficulties, the country moves forward, looking for opportunities to recover and grow. The attraction of key international job-platforms like WhatJobs speads the optimism and helps Ukraine to adapt to the new reality and globalize faster.
