In January-November of this year, Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 18.65% year-on-year to 2 million 192.6 thousand tons from 1 million 847.9 thousand tons.
According to the company, steel production for the period increased by 18.6% to 2 million 645.3 thousand tons, and pig iron production by 15% to 2 million 821.6 thousand tons.
In November, Zaporizhstal produced 259.6 thousand tons of iron, 227.3 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 191.4 thousand tons of rolled products.
It is also recalled that in 2023, the plant operated at an average of 70% of its capacity.
As reported, in 2023, Zaporizhstal increased its rolled steel output by 57.2% compared to 2022, to 2 million 54.7 thousand tons, steel by 65.4%, to 2 million 466.9 thousand tons, and pig iron by 35.3%, to 2 million 718.9 thousand tons.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are widely known and in demand in the domestic market and in many countries of the world.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
In November 2024, Ukraine exported 6.2 million tons of agricultural products, which is 6.5% less than the same indicator of the previous month, but it is still a good monthly export figure, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB).
According to the report, in November 2024, Ukraine increased grain exports by 3%, of which corn accounted for 63%, wheat – 33%, and barley – 4%.
Supplies of oilseeds to foreign markets decreased by 32% to 0.8 mln tons (soybeans – 58% and rapeseed – 41%), vegetable oils – by 8% to 541.2 thsd tonnes. tons (sunflower oil – 89%, soybean oil – 9% and rapeseed oil – 2%), cake after extraction of vegetable oils – by 19% to 383.3 thousand tons (sunflower oil – 78%, soybean oil – 12%), other types of agricultural products – by 5% to 398.5 thousand tons.
“The growth is observed only in the grain group, while the rest of the categories show a decline. The biggest decline was in oilseeds, which decreased by one third. The main reason is the slowdown in rapeseed exports, as the lion’s share of it has already been exported,” commented UCAB.
The cargo turnover of Ukrainian seaports in January-November 2024 reached 89.8 million tons, which is 69.7% more than in the same period last year.
“In January-November 2024, Ukrainian seaports handled 89.8 million tons of cargo, which is significantly higher than the volume of 52.9 million tons achieved in the same period in 2023. This achievement demonstrates the resilience and efficiency of the port industry even in a difficult situation,” the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) said on Facebook on Monday.
Agricultural products traditionally remain the mainstay of cargo traffic, with a share of 55 million tons, the report said.
At the same time, 7.5 million tons of cargo were handled in November, up 41% year-on-year. A month earlier in October, 8 million tons of cargo were handled.
Earlier, the USPA reported that the cargo turnover of Ukrainian ports from January 1 to November 17, 2024 increased to 86.8 million tons, of which 53.5 million tons were exported.
Age-sex pyramid of the population of Ukraine for 2024 (thousand people)
Open4Business.com.ua
AirBaltic said it’s developed a plan to resume flights to Ukraine at short notice of the airspace reopening, three years after the Russian invasion severed the country’s air links.
The Latvian airline plans to shift capacity from other destinations into Ukraine once safe to do so, Chief Executive Officer Martin Gauss said on Monday in an interview. AirBaltic would also want to keep some aircraft in Ukraine overnight, a practice known as night-stopping, he said.
“We can be flying tonight if it’s safe,” he said. “I would even fly empty there if it’s clear we can fly out and would sell the tickets, and the tickets are sold.”
Optimism for the end of the war in Ukraine is gaining momentum, with US President-elect Donald Trump saying he could settle the country’s conflict with Russia. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has suggested he’d accept a cease-fire with Russia that left parts of his country occupied in return for NATO security guarantees over the rest.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Kyiv on Monday and offered additional military aid, which stands to strengthen Zelenskiy’s hand in any cease-fire talks.
AirBaltic had a strong market in Ukraine and previously operated flights from Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa but was forced to suspend all flights when the airspace closed because of the conflict. Airlines are now assessing when and how to restart flights into Ukraine when the airspace reopens. Ryanair Holdings Plc has promised to base 30 aircraft there and help rebuild the country’s aviation industry once the war ends.
Opening the airspace and airports would provide AirBaltic with an additional key market, given that Ukraine travel demand is high, Gauss said. The carrier would also be able to cross Ukraine’s airspace to fly a more direct route south of Latvia to destinations such as Dubai and Greece.
Gauss said the airline hasn’t included the plan in its guidance because it’s unclear when Ukraine’s airspace will open again.
Ahead of a proposed initial public offering, AirBaltic is in advanced talks with a “large stock-listed airline,” Gauss said, without disclosing the airline and a time-line. It comes after Bloomberg News reported Deutsche Lufthansa AG was considering taking a stake in the Latvian airline.
The IPO was initially set to happen in the second half of this year, but Gauss said the earliest is now in the first half of 2025 because market conditions need to be right.
AirBaltic is among the airlines impacted by Pratt & Whitney engine issues under the wings of Airbus SE aircraft. The carrier currently has 16 aircraft on the ground for removal and inspections, and expects as many as 12 jets to be grounded next summer, Gauss said.
In November 2024, Ukraine remained a net importer of electricity, but its total imports decreased by 9% compared to October – to 165 million kWh, D.Trading LLC reported.
According to its analytical report provided to the Energoreforma portal, most of the electricity was imported to Ukraine from Slovakia (55.5 million kWh). Poland ranks second (41.4 million kWh), Hungary third (33.3 million kWh), followed by Romania (28.6 million kWh) and Moldova (6.1 million kWh).
The largest volume of electricity imports per day was on November 1 – 12 million kWh, or more than 4% of total electricity consumption in Ukraine.
According to the company, in November, as in October, imports did not reach the maximum technically permitted capacity of 1700 MW, reaching only 1300 MW in the evening peak.
“In general, the utilization of the offered cross-section fell to 42% (in October it was 72%). But at the same time, the volume of the offered crossing was 54% higher than in October – 390.7 million kWh. The interconnection with Hungary was used by 24%, with Poland – by 87%, with Romania – by 31%, with Slovakia – by 64%, with Moldova – by 27%,” the report says.
According to the company’s estimates, last month, imports, taking into account all costs, were economically feasible in only 20% of hours from Hungary (145 hours), Romania (142 hours) and Slovakia (136 hours). From Poland, imports were reasonable in 35% of all hours (254 hours).
“D.Trading notes that the main factors behind the dynamics of electricity imports during the month were deteriorating weather conditions, which led to an increase in consumption; high spot prices in neighboring EU countries caused by increased demand; shelling of energy infrastructure, which led to the renewal of restrictions; business demand for imported electricity after the restrictions were lifted.
According to the company’s analysts, in the first decade of November, imports fell from the initial level of more than 10 million kWh per day to 1-3 million kWh/day. They attribute this to a significant increase in prices on the spot markets of European countries due to the almost complete absence of renewable energy production and the growth of consumption to an excessive level.
According to D.Trading, in Hungary alone, consumption at the beginning of the month was more than 10% higher than normal for this period of time, and scheduled repairs at the Kozloduy NPP unit (Bulgaria) further worsened the situation with the balance of Southeast European countries.
At the same time, the high load on power lines due to increased consumption also led to restrictions on interstate electricity transfers.
At the same time, prices on the Ukrainian day-ahead market (DAM) were significantly lower than European prices due to price restrictions.
Analysts point out that imports continued to remain at a very low level until November 17, when massive shelling of the energy infrastructure took place.
“The restrictions imposed on industrial consumers after that increased business demand for imported electricity. Due to the extremely high prices in Europe, businesses did not use the import quota at the maximum possible level, so import growth in the last decade of November was only up to about 10 million kWh per day,” D.Trading describes the situation.
As reported, electricity imports in October decreased by 58% compared to September and became the lowest figure since March 2024.
The full report will soon be posted on the Energoreforma website https://reform.energy/.
