Kokhavyno Paper Mill (KPM, Lviv region), which produces sanitary paper products, increased its production by 85.2% in 2024 compared to 2023, to UAH 2 billion 132 million, according to statistics from Ukrpapir Association.
As reported, the factory started last year with a 9% increase in production by January 2023, but increased its growth every month, and in January-November it amounted to 82% compared to the same period in 2023.
According to the association’s statistics provided toInterfax-Ukraine, in physical terms, the production of the base paper for sanitary products at the factory increased by 42.2% to 59.3 thousand tons last year.
The output of toilet paper in rolls amounted to 137.3 million units, slightly decreasing by 2023. KPF confidently ranks second in terms of its output after Kyiv CPP.
As reported, in October last year, Kokhava Pulp and Paper Mill put into operation a paper machine for the production of cellulose base paper (previously, it produced only waste paper-based products). To organize such production in 2021, the mill attracted a EUR 13.8 million loan from the EBRD.
Kokhava Pulp and Paper Mill, which has been operating since 1939, produces base paper for sanitary and hygiene products, as well as toilet paper and paper towels. Before the new machine was put into operation, the mill had two paper machines with a total capacity of 40 thousand tons of base paper per year.
In 2023, the plant increased its production by 18% compared to 2022 to UAH 1 billion 151.2 million, while net profit increased 2.7 times to UAH 137 million.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Jedovic-Handanovic agreed on Wednesday to intensify investment policy in the energy security sector and speed up the construction of the first oil pipeline between the two countries, the Hungarian foreign minister said.
“We have agreed to expand joint investments in energy and energy security, including the construction of the first interconnecting oil pipeline,” Szijjarto wrote on Facebook (Meta Platforms Inc.).
In addition, Sijarto and Jedovic-Handanovic agreed to step up funding for “a new power line connecting the networks of the two countries.”
“For our country, Serbia is a strategic partner, without Serbia there will be no energy security for Hungary, and vice versa,” the Hungarian Foreign Minister added.
As reported, the construction of the oil pipeline between Hungary and Serbia is expected to be completed by 2026. The new branch will be connected to the Druzhba pipeline and will allow Serbia to diversify its oil supplies and not depend on Croatia.
Metinvest Group’s Kametstal plant, which was built at the facilities of Dnipro Metallurgical Plant (DMK, Kamianske, Dnipro region), in cooperation with YASNO Energy Efficiency, has completed a major overhaul and modernized the most productive turbine blower No. 1 in the turbine shop of the CHPP.
According to the press release, the turbine shop has implemented a project to modernize the automatic control system of the unit to ensure a stable, uninterrupted supply of blast of the set parameters to the DP-1M blast furnace, which is the main task of TPD-1.
It is also specified that as part of the reconstruction, the unit’s control units were dismantled – the old hydraulic equipment was replaced by a modern hydroelectromechanical control system with electronics and software, which made it possible to switch to automatic control of the blowing parameters by the turbine shop operators. Previously, the BFD was controlled manually using levers or buttons. After the modernization, this process takes place only on the monitor screen. Now, power engineers can precisely control steam consumption with an accuracy of several cubic meters, and thus the air supply to blast furnaces.
During the overhaul, a large amount of work was performed alongside the modernization. In particular, the steam turbine, a key component of BF-1, was repaired. Auxiliary equipment was also inspected.
The modernization was carried out during the second half of 2024. Most of the work was carried out by contractors and specialists of YASNO Energy Efficiency. Scheduled post-repair tests were successful, and in December, the upgraded BF started operating.
“Kametstal was created on the basis of PJSC Dneprovsky Coke and Chemical Plant (DKKhZ) and Centralized Steel Works of PJSC Dneprovsky Metallurgical Plant (DMK).
According to the 2020 report of Metinvest Group’s parent company, Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) owned 100% of the shares in DCCP.
The western regions of Ukraine have seen a 30-40% increase in visits to resorts and tourist destinations during the winter holidays compared to last winter.
“Last season, even with great snowy weather, there were fewer people, but this year we see 30-40% more tourists. This is due to two factors: an increase in supply in the region and a somewhat more positive attitude,” Andriy Dzvinchuk, chairman of the board of the Association of Hotels and Manor Owners of Yaremche Region, toldInterfax-Ukraine.
In total, Yaremche region (Yaremche, Polianytsia, Yablunytsia, Mykulychyn, Vorokhta, Tatariv, etc.) currently offers about 20,000 beds in about 250 hotels and 800 estates. According to Dzvinchuk, in recent years, the region has seen a shift in tourist traffic closer to the resort in winter, due to the emergence of new large hotels with 200-300 rooms with developed, modern infrastructure. In particular, the occupancy of hotels managed by Ribas Hotels in Bukovel is higher than last year.
“This year’s season officially started on December 12, which contributed to an increase in occupancy and demand in the market. During the New Year’s period, we came close to the numbers that were before the full-scale invasion, and in some hotels even exceeded them. Hotel occupancy in Bukovel reached 77-84%, depending on the hotel, and increased by 11-13% compared to last year,” said Yulia Kosenko, CEO of Ribas Hotels Management.
The length of stay of guests in Bukovel also increased and amounted to 4.3 nights compared to the previous year’s figure of 3.2 nights during the New Year period. On New Year’s Eve, 60% of guests stayed for 5-8 nights, and the number of group bookings increased and became the same as in the pre-war season.
“We can also highlight the return of interest and participation of guests in the New Year’s celebration, with hotel restaurants filling 73% of their seats,” said Kosenko.
Lviv region has also seen a noticeable increase in tourist activity.
“There is growth. If we compare the New Year’s period, 43.3% of hotel rooms were booked in 2023, and 47% in 2024,” Taras Lozynsky, acting head of the Department of Tourism and Resorts of the Lviv Regional State Administration, told Interfax-Ukraine.
At the same time, there was an increase in hotel occupancy in Lviv – 54.6% during the New Year’s period compared to 54.4% last season, but a decrease in occupancy in the Carpathian region and resort areas in general (46.1% and 41.9% in 2024 vs. 62.4% and 57.7% in 2023), which can be explained by a significant new supply. This is indirectly evidenced by the growth of tourist tax (UAH 9.17 million in November-December 2024 vs. UAH 7.6 million in the same period in 2023) and attendance at the most popular tourist locations. In particular, Tustan was visited by 15 thousand tourists in November-December 2024, compared to 11.7 thousand last year; Skole Beskydy – 26.9 thousand and 17.1 thousand, respectively; and the Domazhyr bear shelter – 1.5 thousand against 1081.
Apartel resort partner Yevhen Kudryavchenko told Interfax-Ukraine that the occupancy rate of the chain’s hotels (in Shayany, Uzhhorod and Skhidnytsia) was 80% during the New Year’s period, while about 40% of guests chose long-term stays of five nights or more. Prices for the New Year period increased by at least 25% from the base rate.
Kudryavchenko noted that long vacations accounted for a large share of the workload, with families with children choosing 7-10 days of stay.
“If we talk about the periods from December 10 to January 10, we have a fantastic occupancy rate, about 70% in hotels due to the large number of families with children. We adapted the program for them, added children’s entertainment, and allocated a whole room for children’s entertainment. Even on New Year’s Eve, we had a separate room where children celebrated separately from their parents, and parents thanked us for that,” he added.
As for the depth of booking, Kudryavchenko said that earlier they used to book months in advance, but now the planning horizon has significantly decreased, with the peak of bookings a week before arrival.
“Another negative trend is a significant share of cancellations – 15% for various reasons, while before the war this figure did not exceed 5%,” he said.
According to Kosenko, in Bukovel, guests mostly book their vacations a month in advance.
“Tourism in the high season has become more planned rather than sudden, although there are still some guests who book a weekend in a day, taking the last rooms,” she said.
According to Ms. Dzvinchuk, prices have risen significantly, by 10-20%, compared to last year. This is explained not only by inflation and more expensive new offers, but also by the fact that the booking company has returned the commission for Ukrainian clients (up to 18%).
Kosenko said that the average rate at Ribas Hotels increased by 18% compared to last year and amounted to UAH 11 thousand per night on average, which indicates a constant pricing in the market this season.
In 2024, Ukrainian enterprises reduced their consumption of rolled metal products by 6.26% year-on-year to 3 million 288.4 thousand tons.
According to a press release issued by Ukrmetallurgprom on Monday, 1 million 235.4 thousand tons, or 37.57% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market, were imported during this period.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in 2024, steelmakers produced 6.222 million tonnes of rolled steel (up 15.8% from 2023), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, approximately 4.169 million tonnes, or 67%, were exported. In 2023, the share of exports was 55.4% (2.985 million tons of total rolled steel production of 5.372 million tons).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries last year amounted to 46.05%, which is significantly higher than a year earlier – 42.04%. At the same time, the share of flat products in export deliveries in 2024 was almost at the level of 2023 – 40.27% and 39.22%, respectively. The share of long products last year was significantly lower than a year earlier, at 14.73% versus 17.69%.
The structure of imports in 2024 is characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (79.61% and 18.83%, respectively). Also in 2023, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant – 81.02% and 18.06%, respectively.
“In 2024, the domestic market capacity amounted to 3,288.4 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 1,235.4 thousand tons, or 37.57%, were imported. In 2023, the domestic market capacity amounted to 3507.9 thousand tons, of which 1120.9 thousand tons, or 31.95%, were imported. Thus, there is a decrease in the domestic market capacity in 2024 compared to 2023 by 6.26% with a simultaneous increase in the share of the import component by 5.61%,” the press release states.
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled metal products in 2024 are the European Union (70.7%), Africa (10.1%), and other European countries (8.3%).
Other European countries (51.8%) are the leading metallurgical importers in 2024, followed by the EU-27 (27.7%) and Asian countries (19.2%).
As reported, Ukraine’s rolled steel market increased 2.19 times in 2023 compared to 2022, to 3 million 505.6 thousand tons. The company imported 1 million 118.6 thousand tons, or 31.91% of the domestic market for these products.
At the end of 2024, for the first time in Uzbekistan, imports of electric and hybrid cars outnumbered traditional gasoline cars. According to the Customs Committee, published by Gazeta.uz, 80,235 passenger cars worth $1.9 billion were imported into the country during the year. At the same time, this is 7% less in quantitative terms (-5,710 units) and 33.1% less in monetary terms (-$632.6 million) compared to 2023.
Imports of cars with gasoline engines decreased by 36.3%, amounting to 32,928 units (compared to 51,699 a year earlier). The cost of imports also decreased significantly – from $1.18 billion to $707.2 million (-40%). The share of gasoline cars in total imports decreased from 64.4% to 44.2%.
Imports of hybrid cars increased by 42%, reaching 17,480 units. Their total value amounted to $339.3 million, which is 17% more than in 2023. The share of hybrids in total imports increased from 15.3% to 23.4%.
Electric vehicles showed even more impressive growth: the number of imported cars increased 1.5 times, from 16,084 to 24,095 units. At the same time, their cost decreased by 48.2% to $224.8 million. The share of electric vehicles in imports increased from 20% to 32.3%.
The average cost of an imported electric car decreased almost threefold, from $26,972 to $9,330 (excluding VAT and customs duties). Hybrid cars also fell in price, but less significantly: the average price dropped by 17.6%, from $23,570 to $19,410. For gasoline cars, the decline was only 6%, from $22,858 to $21,476.
The growing demand for environmentally friendly vehicles is being stimulated by tax and customs incentives. Imports of electric vehicles are exempt from excise duties, customs duties, and road tolls. Taxi drivers using electric and hybrid vehicles are exempt from license fees until 2030. Entrepreneurs are entitled to benefits for the installation of charging stations, which will be introduced in 2023.
In addition, the registration of electric vehicles and hybrids is cheaper than that of gasoline cars. For example, the cost of registering an eco-friendly vehicle is 1.5 BRV, while for gasoline cars it is 6.84 BRV.
Problems with LPG refueling and the high cost of gasoline also contribute to drivers’ switching to electric vehicles. As a result, the share of eco-friendly vehicles in imports reached 55.8% (33,564 units), exceeding the share of gasoline cars (44.2%, 32,928 units).
