Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Sunflower prices will reach 17-18 thousand UAH per ton

Agrarians in the southern regions of Ukraine have started harvesting sunflower, the market is gradually switching to trading the new sunflower crop, which has both demand and decent prices, which will reach 17-18 thousand UAH/ton in November-December, according to the analytical cooperative “Pusk”, created within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council (AAC).

“The new sunflower harvest is already being traded on FOB and CIF basis, in particular, Italy recently purchased a thousand tons of Ukrainian oilseed at $465/ton. Processors are already announcing prices at $370/ton excluding VAT,” the analysts said.

They expect that in August-September, the purchase prices for sunflower in Ukraine will remain in the range of 14 500-15 000 UAH/ton.

In the near future, Ukraine is expected to have high air temperatures and no precipitation, which will facilitate the harvesting campaign, so the supply of sunflower will grow, experts said.

“If there is no significant precipitation, then in mid-September we can expect the traditional price decrease by 1000-1500 UAH/ton – the price tags will drop to 12-13 thousand UAH/ton under the pressure of harvesting. But in November-December, the range will increase to 17-18 thousand UAH/ton. The seasonal model generally shows an upward trend in prices,” experts predict.

The level of purchase prices for Ukrainian sunflower will support the global growth of prices for vegetable oils on the world market, the UGA believes.

On September 1, 25,000 first-graders will start school in Kyiv

On September 1, about 25,000 first-graders will start school in the Ukrainian capital, which is close to the pre-war figures, according to the website of the Kyiv City State Administration.

“It is thanks to our work and efforts that the educational process in Kyiv has not stopped. And this is despite the fact that during the large-scale war the Russian aggressor damaged 104 educational institutions in the capital. 83 of them have already been restored, while the rest are undergoing repairs. This year, about 25 thousand first-graders will go to Kyiv schools, which is close to the pre-war figures. I believe this is a manifestation of trust in us. And the desire of parents for their children to live and study in Ukraine, in Kyiv,” said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko at an educational conference in August.

According to him, all 420 schools in the capital will start their work, the vast majority of them in a full-time format.

The mayor thanked the teachers for their work. According to Klitschko, 762 graduates received the maximum 200 points in the national multi-subject test.

,

Turkish authorities suspend ship traffic through Dardanelles Strait

Turkish authorities on Tuesday suspended ship traffic through the Dardanelles strait due to forest fires in coastal areas, Turkish media reported.

According to them, “traffic through the strait has been suspended since 18:45 local time, as specialized aircraft taking water directly from the strait are involved in extinguishing the fires.”

In addition, if the fire reaches the coast, specialized vessels are already ready to extinguish it.

There is no word yet on when traffic through the Dardanelles may resume.

The Dardanelles Strait connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara and, when paired with the Bosphorus, to the Black Sea. It is an important route for ships.

, ,

Charity squash tournament Zenit Ukraine Open 2023 in Kyiv: results of the competition

On August 19-20, the capital’s SPORT LIFE fitness center became the main competition arena for squash fans from all over Ukraine and the world. The Zenit Ukraine Open 2023 charity tournament brought together more than 100 players who came from Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, Kherson and Odesa, as well as from France, the USA, Turkey and Moldova.

The participants competed in various categories ranging from Lady B to Men A. The winners in their categories were:

Lady B category:

Anetta Siganevich
Veronika Levkivska
Yulia Yakimova

Lady A category:

Daria Vlasenko
Tatiana Stanko
Veronika Usenko

Category Men D:

Roman Popov
Anton Babushko
Stepan Kobzev

Category Men C:

Anton Skaballanovich
Kirill Leonov
Araik Sargsyan

Category Men B:

Maxim Shumelda
Rostyslav Zavinskyi
Dmytro Baluta

Category Men A:

Nikita Panov
Ruslan Petrovych
Maxim Tokar

After the sports part, the winners were awarded at the Brugge restaurant, where a charity auction and a patriotic buffet were also held. The joint efforts of the participants and the host Andriy Dzhedzhula raised over UAH 100,000. These funds will be used to support squash players and the army.

The event could not have become so bright and successful without the support of partners and sponsors:

The main fitness partner “SPORT LIFE“;

The event was organized by the Ukrainian Squash Federation;

Information partner – Interfax Ukraine news agency, Open4Business;

Official sponsor – Experts Club;

Medical partner – Adonis chain of clinics;

Partner of the award ceremony – “VILLA TINTA”;

Prizes and gifts were presented by Sport Life, Reima and Tecnifibre;

The official water of the tournament is KRAINA;

Beer for participants and guests was provided by TERMO-PAB;

All tournament guests were accommodated at FAVOR HOTEL;

The award ceremony and party were held in partnership with the BRUGGE restaurant.

The tournament confirmed that charity and sport can go hand in hand, bringing joy and helping people.

Source https://interfax.com.ua/news/press-release/930405.html

, , , , , , ,

Fifth Cheese & Wine Festival was held in Uman

The festival was held at the Forest Club Sherwood hotel and restaurant complex. The event was attended by well-known Ukrainian wineries: TM My Wine, SHABO, BOLGRAD, Cotnar, Villa Tinta, and Vladyslav Zakrevsky’s winery. Also represented were Honey Badger liqueurs and tinctures, White Church Distillery, Osnova cheese factory, Zinka TM, Kozatski Kozyrni Syry, producers of meat chips and snacks Snacks by Bandera, and others.

Interesting lectures for visitors were held at the festivals. Visitors were introduced to the world of winemaking: Liudmyla Boiko, chief technologist of the Honey Badger family enterprise; Stepan and Olha Kutsipak, owners of the Snacks by Bandera brand; Natalia Blahopoluchna, president of the All-Ukrainian Association of Winemakers and Sommeliers, head of the first Ukrainian sommelier school “Master Class”; Bogdan Panchuk, brand ambassador of Leleka Wines; Eduard Gorodetsky, founder of Tiras Winery; Natalia Burlachenko, sommelier and brand ambassador of Vinos de la Luz; Vita Oliynyk, representative of Zinka TM. The event was also attended by Ricardo Fernandez Nunez, the owner of Vinos de la Luz group of companies.

In addition to wine lectures, visitors were able to attend a master class “How to open champagne with a glass or modern sabrage” by Mykola Blagopoluchny, head of the Master Class sommelier school and director of the All-Ukrainian Association of Winemakers and Sommeliers.

The highlight of the first day of the festival was a soulful concert by Ukrainian singer PIANOBOY.

On July 30, the festival hosted a roundtable discussion on the development of winemaking and viticulture in Ukraine during the war. The participants were Ihor Vishtak, Director of the Crop Production Department of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine; Volodymyr Pechko, Head of the UKRSADVINPROM NGO; Iryna Kovaleva, Director of the V.E. Tairov Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club. Maxim Urakin, founder of the analytical center “Club of Experts”, publisher, marketing director of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency; Yegor Belov, chef-sommelier of the InterContinental Kyiv hotel, winner of the All-Ukrainian Sommelier Competition 2018; Dmytro Saprykin, brand ambassador of Alcoline and Oleg Antipin, brand ambassador of SHABO; Konstantin Tintulov, commercial director and co-owner of Vinhol Oksamytne LLC.

The roundtable was also attended by Dmytro Natalukha, a Ukrainian politician and public figure, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine of the IX convocation, lawyer, human rights activist, Chairman of the Committee on Economic Development in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the IX convocation. Member of the parliamentary faction of the Servant of the People political party. Deputy Member of the Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Co-chair of the group on interparliamentary relations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The roundtable ended with a pre-premiere screening of the movie Wounded Land. This is a documentary about the stories of Ukrainian winemakers who have suffered from Russian aggression. The film was directed and co-produced by Roman Zayats, the founder of the Heartland project.

The festival has a charitable component. Charity auctions and fundraisers were held for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The event raised UAH 142,050! The main lot of the festival – a unique wine from Vinos de La Luz with a label of Ivan Marchuk’s painting – was sold for UAH 120 thousand. The funds raised were distributed as follows:

UAH 120,000 was donated for the treatment of cancer to Serhiy Kovalenko, a veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a well-known winemaker.
UAH 22050 was donated to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Consumer tasting was held during the two days of the event. Visitors of the event chose the best wine. Wines from TM My Wine won the Consumer Choice competition.

The event was organized by Focus event.

, , , , ,

Knyazha VIG Insurance Company increased gross premiums collection by 69.8%, payments by 53.5%

In January-June 2023, the insurance company “Knyazha Vienna Insurance Group” (Kyiv) collected UAH 879.7 million of insurance payments, which is 69.8% more than in the same period a year earlier, according to the website of the rating agency “Standard Rating” in the information on the confirmation of the financial strength rating / credit rating of the insurer at the level of “uaAA+” for the specified period.

According to the RA website, during this period, the insurer’s revenues from individuals increased by 63.57% to UAH 616.2 million, and from reinsurers – by 205.44% to UAH 1,347 million. In the first half of 2023, the share of individuals in the company’s gross written premiums amounted to 70.04%, and the share of reinsurers – 0.15%.

Insurance payments sent to reinsurers in the first half of 2023 increased by 71.15% to UAH 298.9 million compared to the same period in 2022. Thus, the ratio of participation of reinsurance companies in insurance premiums increased by 0.26 p.p. to 33.98%.

The company’s net written premiums increased by 69.19% to UAH 580.8 million, and earned premiums increased by 33.04% to UAH 504.3 million.

The volume of insurance payments and reimbursements made by the company in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 increased by 53.53% to UAH 272.72 million. The payout ratio decreased by 3.30 p.p. to 31.00%.

In the first six months of 2023, the company received a net profit of UAH 17.324 million. Its assets increased by 19.11% to UAH 2.310 billion, equity increased by 4.83% to UAH 417.27 million, liabilities increased by 22.80% to UAH 1.892 billion, cash and cash equivalents decreased by 68.10% to UAH 51.532 million.

At the same time, the RA notes that as of July 1, 2023, the insurer made financial investments in the amount of UAH 914.8 million, which consisted of government bonds (UAH 663.7 million), as well as deposits in banks with a high credit rating (UAH 251.1 million).

PrJSC “IC “Knyazha Vienna Insurance Group” is a part of IFG Vienna Insurance Group Ukraine, the main shareholder of which is Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (Austria). The group also includes PrJSC IC Ukrainian Insurance Group – 100%, PrJSC IC Knyazha Life Vienne Insurance Group – 97.8%, LLC USG Consulting – 50.7%, LLC VIG Services Ukraine – 78.7%, LLC Assistance Company Ukrainian Assistance Service – 100%.

, , ,