The agricultural holding company “Astarta” has completed the harvest of early grain crops and winter rapeseed across an area of 54,000 hectares, yielding approximately 256,000 metric tons, the company reported.
According to the report, the agricultural holding harvested over 210,000 metric tons of wheat and 43,000 metric tons of winter rapeseed.
The average yield of winter wheat at Astarta was 5.4 metric tons per hectare, and that of winter rapeseed was 3.1 metric tons per hectare. The highest yields were recorded at Khmilnytske LLC in the Vinnytsia region—7.7 metric tons per hectare of winter wheat and 3.8 metric tons per hectare of winter rapeseed.
Andriy Zagorulko, Director of the Agricultural Holding’s Department of Crop Production, Logistics, and Mechanization, noted that the season was challenging due to unfavorable weather conditions and diseases affecting winter rapeseed.
Astarta has already begun preparing the soil for the winter crop planting season.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agribusiness holding company operating in seven regions of Ukraine and is the country’s largest sugar producer. The company’s portfolio includes five sugar refineries, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 214,000 hectares (including 129,000 hectares in the Poltava region, 42,000 hectares in the Khmelnytskyi region, and 16,000 hectares in the Vinnytsia region), and dairy farms with 30,000 head of cattle. The holding company also operates a soybean processing plant and a bioenergy complex in the Poltava region, as well as a network of six grain elevators.
Astarta’s net profit for 2025 fell 4.2-fold to $19.94 million, while consolidated revenue decreased by 23% to $472 million.
The national postal operator, JSC “Ukrposhta,” has launched an integration with Etsy, one of the world’s largest marketplaces, which will allow customers to process international shipments without duplicating data, the company’s CEO, Ihor Smiliansky, announced on Wednesday.
“Starting today, Ukrposhta has launched integration with Etsy, where more than 1.7 million Ukrainian handmade goods, craft items, works of art, and vintage products are sold,” Smiliansky wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, Ukrainian sellers will be able to automatically import orders from Etsy, process international shipments without re-entering data, and automatically send tracking numbers once a shipment is created.
Among other features, the integration will allow sellers to print shipping labels directly from their personal account, pay for shipping online, take advantage of cumulative discounts on international shipments, and return shipments free of charge if they are undeliverable.
Users will be able to set up the integration in their Ukrposhta account by syncing it with their Etsy shop, which will then allow new orders to be imported automatically.
“After that, all that’s left is to process and pay for the shipment online, print the shipping label (or provide the tracking number at a post office), and hand the package over to Ukrposhta, which will deliver it to any of the 230 countries and territories around the world,” noted the CEO of the national postal operator.
Separately, Smiliansky clarified that the company is developing a program for VIP exporters, allowing them to send shipments from anywhere in a confidential manner and use a courier service.
As reported in late June, “Ukrposhta” signed an agreement with Etsy, thereby becoming its official partner.
Ukrposhta noted that the national postal operator will handle all customs duty payments (in the U.S. and the EU).
Etsy is an international marketplace specializing in the sale of handmade items, vintage goods, jewelry, and other products.
As previously reported, Ukrposhta posted a net profit of 296.7 million UAH for the second quarter of 2026, compared to a net loss of 108 million UAH in the same period of 2025.
Sustainable development of the wood processing industry—the achievement of this operational objective of the Government Action Program—is now the responsibility of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, whereas until recently, forestry was overseen by the Ministry of Economy and Environment.
According to the Program, which the Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food is tasked with approving the Strategy for the Development of Ukraine’s Wood Processing and Furniture Industries for the period up to 2030 and adopting an operational plan of measures for its implementation for 2026–2028 (2026).
Other tasks in this area include introducing, in 2027, uniform rules for the functioning of the timber market for all permanent forest users and forest owners; completing the corporatization of the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”; and imposing a permanent moratorium on the sale of state-owned shares.
The forestry sector and the State Forest Resources Agency (State Forest Agency) were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy until 2019, after which they were transferred to the jurisdiction of the merged Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection (Ministry of Energy and Environment), and in 2020, following its split, they were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, where they remained until the summer of 2025, when yet another merged ministry was created—the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
People’s Deputy Olga Vasilevska-Smaglyuk criticized the possible decision to return the forestry sector to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. “The key risk is a change in the very philosophy of forest management. Forests cannot be viewed merely as an economic resource that needs to be used more efficiently. After all, they are first and foremost natural capital, an ecosystem, and a component of the country’s environmental security,” she explained.
In her view, such a transfer could also slow down the corporatization of the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” the digitization of timber accounting, and the transition to European forest management standards.
CORPORATIZATION, FOREST, MINISTRY OF AGRARIAN POLICY, TIMBER, WOOD PROCESSING
The Hungarian housing market continued its recovery in 2025, with prices rising by 20% in nominal terms and by 15% after adjusting for inflation. The number of registered transactions approached 136,000, and the final figure, according to estimates by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), is expected to exceed 140,000 transactions, according to the latest annual market review.
However, the KSH has not yet published detailed statistics for 2025 breaking down homebuyers by citizenship. The latest available comprehensive snapshot shows that in 2024, foreign nationals purchased 6,600 residential properties in Hungary with a total value of approximately 834 million euros. This represented a 5.2% increase in the number of properties compared to the previous year.
Thus, foreigners accounted for about 5% of all real estate transactions in Hungary in 2024, and in monetary terms, they accounted for 6.4% of the market’s turnover. In total, approximately 131,100 real estate properties were sold in the country that year.
Following a decline in activity in 2023, the number of transactions in Hungary rose by 25% in 2024—to 131,100. Growth continued in 2025: as of the data cutoff, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) had received information on 135,700 sales, of which 128,200 were in the resale market and approximately 7,600 were new construction units. The final number of transactions is expected to exceed 140,000.
The market picked up particularly noticeably in the second half of the year following the launch of the Home Start government program for subsidized housing loans. In September, the number of sales was 47% higher than a year earlier, and in the fourth quarter, KSH estimated annual growth in the number of transactions at approximately 10%.
In Budapest, the average price per square meter for resale housing in the fourth quarter of 2025 was approximately 3,240 euros.
The average price of a sold property reached approximately 184,000 euros. Prefabricated apartments sold for an average of approximately 165,000 euros, while single-family homes sold for 284,000 euros.
The price per square meter in the capital rose by 21% over the year. At the same time, growth was even higher in certain segments: prefabricated apartments rose in price by approximately 35%.
Outside the capital, the highest prices among administrative centers at the end of 2025 were observed in Debrecen—about 2,620 euros per square meter, Dióra—2,450 euros, Veszprém—2,440 euros, and Szeged—about 2,380 euros per square meter.
Although comprehensive statistics for 2025 are nearly complete, the most recent detailed ranking of buyers by citizenship published by the KSH still pertains to 2024.
Foreign nationals purchased 6,600 residential properties that year, which is 5.2% more than in 2023.
The total value of real estate purchased by foreigners amounted to approximately 834 million euros, or 6.4% of the Hungarian housing market’s turnover.
Statistics by major groups of foreigners in 2024:
Germany — 1,369 properties
China — 708
Romania — 671
Slovakia — 671
Netherlands — 438
Vietnam — 329
Austria — 268
Russia — 185
Ukraine — 144
Israel — 137
Differences between groups of foreign buyers are particularly noticeable in terms of the geographic location of purchases.
Chinese citizens completed 91.5% of their transactions in Budapest, Vietnamese buyers — 96%, and Russians — 84.9%.
Ukrainians were significantly less focused on the capital: only 39.6% of the homes they purchased were located in Budapest. Thus, the majority of Ukrainian buyers chose other cities and regions of Hungary.
Germans, despite ranking first in the number of transactions, showed virtually no concentration in the capital—Budapest accounted for only 8% of their purchases. The KSH notes high activity among German citizens in small towns in the Southern and Western Transdanubia regions.
The average price of a property purchased by a Ukrainian citizen was approximately 96,000 euros, and the average price per square meter was about 1,350 euros.
Nationwide in Hungary, foreigners account for about 5% of the total number of transactions, but their share is significantly higher in Budapest. In 2024, foreign citizens accounted for 7.8% of residential purchases in the capital and 10% of their total value.
In the inner districts of Pest, foreigners accounted for approximately 19% of all transactions and, in terms of value, represented about 26% of the market. Chinese and Vietnamese buyers were particularly prominent here.
Thus, the latest official statistics already allow us to assess the Hungarian real estate market for 2025: approximately 136,000 registered transactions, with the prospect of exceeding 140,000 after final data processing; a 20% increase in prices; and a further significant rise in housing costs in Budapest and most major cities.
However, the breakdown of purchases by citizenship for 2025 has not yet been published.
Source: Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH).
The Ukrainian company Termojet, a manufacturer of equipment for boiler rooms and heating systems, is considering entering the Serbian market and is seeking a local representative or partner to develop sales and distribution, the Serbian Economist Telegram channel reports.
The company has been operating since 2002 and has its own full-cycle production facilities.
Its product range includes pump groups, distribution manifolds, hydraulic separators, separators, valves, circulation pumps, underfloor heating equipment and automation systems.
For large facilities, the company produces the Termojet Mega series with a capacity of up to 2,200 kW.
In Serbia, the company is primarily interested in cooperating with an established participant in the heating and HVAC equipment market.
The preferred partner:
In addition, entering the markets of neighboring countries — Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and other countries in the region — is also a near-term prospect.
Termojet is ready to work with dealers, distributors, installation companies and design organizations and provides its partners with technical support and training.
For inquiries regarding partnership and the organization of cooperation in Serbia, please contact: 100events@ukr.net.
The international hotel management company Ribas Hotels Group (RHG) has joined the nationwide project to promote hotel accessibility, “Space with Opportunities.” WOL.GREEN Polyana has undergone an independent audit, the group’s press service reported.
“Today, accessibility is no longer a competitive advantage that sets a hotel apart from others, but rather a basic requirement for all market players. Amid the war, the number of people with amputations and disabilities is growing, and businesses must ensure equal opportunities for all,” notes Anastasia Ocheretnyuk, PR Lead at Ribas Hotels Group, whose remarks are quoted in the press release.
Inclusivity requirements under Ukraine’s State Building Codes (DBN) are constantly being raised (the latest changes took effect on August 1, 2025; work is currently underway on a new edition—IF-U), and it is not always possible to fully implement these innovations in existing projects. In particular, in the existing hotels of the RHG chain, accessibility has so far been implemented mainly in part—through individual elements such as adapted rooms, ramps, or elevators, the press service explains. Accessibility is being incorporated more comprehensively into new projects that the group is building from the ground up, particularly at “WOL Vinnytsia” and AMA Family Resort, where relevant solutions are planned as early as the design phase.
To assess how truly accessible these solutions are in practice, the Ribas Hotels Group participated in Metro Ukraine’s special project “Space with Opportunities,” carried out in collaboration with the nonprofit organization “Dostupno.UA,” during which 10 free audits of hospitality establishments across Ukraine were conducted. The project’s goal is to help HoReCa businesses create accessible spaces for guests and staff amid the growing number of people with disabilities in Ukraine as a result of the war—a number that, according to rough estimates, could reach 300,000–400,000 people in the post-war period.
The RHG network selected the WOL.GREEN Polyana Hotel for the audit; the company had renovated this unfinished building while the full-scale war was still underway, which allowed it to incorporate some accessibility standards right from the construction phase. The audit confirmed a number of implemented solutions: barrier-free common areas, a reception desk with two service areas, a universal restroom with standard handrails, and an elevator that complies with regulations. At the same time, the experts provided the hotel with recommendations on how to design a guest room adapted for guests with disabilities.
According to Tetyana Morozova, head of the architecture division at TEMO Design, incorporating barrier-free solutions into a project from the very beginning is always less expensive than retrofitting a completed facility. At the same time, inclusivity is not limited to the width of passageways or ramps, but encompasses the guest’s entire journey through the hotel: navigation, lighting, acoustics, and psychological comfort.
Ribas Hotels Group was founded in 2014 in Odesa as an international full-cycle management company and a hotel business ecosystem. It manages the entire process: from site selection, design, and construction to management, franchising, and investment. It is the only hotel group in Ukraine that independently handles all stages of creating and developing hotel projects.
The company’s portfolio includes 56 projects currently in the construction phase, launch phase, or under management, including locations in Ukraine, Poland, Turkey, and Bali. It develops 3-, 4-, and 5-star city and resort hotels under the brands Ribas Hotels, Ribas Rooms, WOL home + hotel, and Mandra Moments. The operator’s total room inventory exceeds 1,000 rooms.
accessibility, AUDIT, HOTEL, inclusivity, RIBAS HOTELS GROUP
