This week, Ukraine’s potato market has experienced a notable uptick in trading activity, according to analysts from the EastFruit project. Industry experts highlight that, in response to rising demand, farmers are continuing to increase their selling prices in this segment.
Currently, potato prices are being declared in the range of 22-30 UAH/kg ($0.53-0.72/kg), which represents an average increase of 22% compared to the previous week.
Market operators attribute this heightened trading activity to the growing interest from wholesale companies and retail chains, which have already begun stocking up for the New Year holidays. While further price increases in this segment are not ruled out, a sharp rise in prices is considered unlikely.
It is noteworthy that, as of today, potatoes in Ukraine are being sold at an average of 85% higher than during the same period last year. This significant price hike is primarily due to a reduction in potato production in Ukraine this year, largely caused by the drought that affected almost all major potato-growing regions during the summer.
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Beer production in Ukraine in January-November 2024 reached 129.8 million dal, up 4.9% compared to the same period in 2023, according to the website of the industry organization of brewers Ukrpyvo.
“The expert estimate of beer production in Ukraine (except for non-alcoholic beer with an alcohol content of up to 0.5 vol%) for 11 months of the year is 129.8 million dal, which is 104.9% compared to the same period in 2023. At the same time, this figure is only 82.5% of the production volumes for 11 months of 2021,” the statement said.
As reported, beer production in Ukraine in 2023 increased by 7.8% compared to 2022. At the same time, in 2022, it fell by 27.9% compared to 2021 – to 122.8 million dal.
Norway will allocate 2.7 billion kroner ($242.38 million) to strengthen the Ukrainian navy and help deter Russian naval forces in the Black Sea, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said, Reuters reports.
“It is necessary to protect the population and infrastructure of Ukraine from attacks by the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” Reuters quoted the Norwegian prime minister as saying on Monday.
“It is also important to protect the export of grain and other products by sea, which bring Ukraine its most important revenues,” he added.
The bitcoin exchange rate reached another historical high the day before, exceeding $106 thousand. As of 9:42 a.m. on Monday, bitcoin rose by 1.9% to $105.11 thousand, according to Coindesk. On Sunday, the cryptocurrency rose to $106,491 thousand. Bitcoin’s growth has been going on for seven weeks in a row, the highest since 2021. The rate is supported by expectations of a favorable cryptocurrency policy under the Donald Trump administration. According to FactSet, since his election as US president, bitcoin ETFs have raised $9.3 billion. The next key level for this cryptocurrency is $110 thousand, MarketWatch reports.
Geographical structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade (imports) in Jan-Sept 2024, thousand USD
Open4Business.com.ua
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) transported a record number of passengers in 2024 and also reached high levels of cargo transportation, said Oleksiy Kuleba, Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister of Community and Territorial Development.
“Today we can state that 2024 is becoming a record year for Ukrzaliznytsia both in terms of cargo transportation, which is more than 148 million tons per year, and passenger transportation. For the second year in a row, Ukrzaliznytsia has been transporting more than 20 million people at its facilities,” Kuleba said on Sunday at the ceremony of the first departure of the Kyiv-Budapest train.
The deputy prime minister emphasized that the volume of UZ passenger traffic is significantly higher than before the full-scale invasion, and passenger traffic to the EU countries is hundreds of times higher than before 2022.
According to Kuleba, there are large-scale plans to expand the railway network with European countries in 2025.
“For 2025, we really have a lot of plans to expand the network with European countries, our neighbors. There are plans for Romania, an increase in traffic to Poland,” Kuleba said.
He noted that demand for international rail transportation in Ukraine exceeds supply.
“So, of course, we have a lot of work to do. We will do everything to reduce the load,” the Vice Prime Minister said.
Oleh Holovashchenko, head of the Passenger Company branch, said that the Kyiv-Budapest train, which made its first run on Sunday, will continue to run on a regular basis and can become a worthy alternative to the Kyiv-Warsaw train.
“This train will help relieve traffic with European countries and make it more convenient,” he said.
He specified that in the two days since the opening of ticket sales for the Kyiv-Budapest train, more than 2,000 tickets have been sold, and the load on the first flight exceeded 60%. UZ expects it to grow rapidly.
Earlier it was reported that UZ launches Kyiv-Budapest and Rava-Ruska-Warsaw trains from December 15 together with the Polish state operator PKP Intercity. In addition, UZ together with ZSSK will launch a connecting route to Bratislava.
