Italy, if necessary, is ready to take part in mine clearance operations at Ukrainian ports in order to ensure the exit of ships with grain from them, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Wednesday.
“We are putting pressure on the creation of sea corridors for the transportation of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports, especially grain. To do this, it is necessary to clear the sea areas near the ports, especially near Odessa,” Sole 24 Ore quoted him as saying.
“Italy has expressed its willingness to participate in demining operations. We want the UN to play a central role in conducting and coordinating operations, along with other partners such as Turkey,” Di Maio added.
He noted that the export of grain would be possible “with Russian guarantees for the safety of ships and their cargo.”
The national football team of Ukraine beat Scotland in Glasgow with a score of 3-1 and will now play with Wales in the playoff final for a ticket to the 2022 World Cup.
Goals in the Ukrainian national team were scored by Andriy Yarmolenko (33 minutes), Roman Yaremchuk (49th) and Artem Dovbyk (90+4). The Scots scored Callum McGregor.
The game for the right to speak at the World Cup in Qatar will be held on June 5 in Cardiff.
The World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022
The production of fresh dairy products in Ukraine in May will be 17-20% lower compared to May last year, which corresponds to a reduction in the country’s population due to mass migration abroad during the war, and also correlates with the demand and solvency of Ukrainians.
“The current situation on the Ukrainian market of fresh dairy products can be called relatively stable. Most of the leading producers have increased output to the level of real demand, which stops growing due to a decrease in the population’s solvency in war conditions,” the website of the industry analytical agency Infagro reported on Wednesday.
According to him, the increase in the production of dairy products is now inexpedient, since in the event of a further increase in its production, dairy processors will have to stimulate sales through mass promotions in retail chains.
“Not all operators can now afford such marketing steps, and networks also pay less attention to such tools, there is not enough human resources. Moreover, in the face of a further rise in the cost of logistics, some companies intend to further increase prices, even if this leads to a decrease sales,” the agency said.
It noted that in May in the market of fresh dairy products, as in April, the leading positions will be held by national companies. At the same time, their production is unlikely to continue to grow in the summer months.
As reported, the profile association “Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine” predicted a decline in milk production in Ukraine in 2022 by 13.3-15.9%, to 7.33-7.56 million tons from 8.73 million in 2021 due to for the Russian military invasion.
The surplus of Ukraine’s consolidated balance amounted to $783 million in April 2022, while in April 2021 the surplus amounted to $795 million, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on its website.
According to its data, the current account surplus in April 2022 amounted to $1.1 billion, which is 23.4 times more than the surplus in April 2021 ($47 million).
The NBU also reported that exports and imports of goods for the month decreased by 51% and 45.7%, respectively.
The main factor behind the decline in exports to $2.4 billion was a 52.8% reduction in food exports, due to a decrease in grain exports (by 64.8%). There was also a decrease in exports of ferrous and non-ferrous metals – by 71.3%, chemical industry products – by 45.7%, wood and wood products – by 2.8%, mineral products (including ores) – by 41.9% and engineering products – by 35%.
The volume of imports of goods for the specified period decreased to $2.7 billion, including non-energy imports – by 51.1%. In particular, imports of industrial products fell by 18.2%, engineering products by 68.9%, food products by 41.4%, ferrous and non-ferrous metals by 72.4%, chemical industry products by 61.6%, and wood and wood products by 75.3%.
At the same time, energy imports decreased by 17.2%.
According to the National Bank, in April 2022 there was a $785 million trade in services deficit compared to a $347 million surplus in April 2021. The NBU explained this by the growth of refugees abroad, whose expenses exceeded those of April 2021 by 3.7 times. At the same time, the export of services fell by 41.9%.
The surplus in the balance of primary income in April 2022 amounted to $783 million (in April 2021, the deficit was $491 million). Receipts under remuneration decreased by 6.1%, and payments on income from investments by 81.2%.
Net lending of the outside world (the total balance of the current and capital account) in April this year amounted to $1.1 billion versus $48 million in April of the previous year.
The net outflow from the financial account was $1.9 billion (versus $747 million in April 2021), driven by outflows from private sector operations.
Net inflow from public sector operations amounted to $818 million (in April 2021, an outflow of $1 billion).
The NBU estimated the net inflow of foreign direct investment at $85 million, while in April of the previous year this figure was $626 million.
According to the regulator, the net increase in the external position of the country’s banking system in operations with portfolio and other investments amounted to $454 million. It was due to an increase in the external position in the currency and deposits item by $504 million.
The external position of the real sector (excluding foreign direct investment) in April 2022 increased by $2.5 billion. It was due to an increase in net external debt on trade loans by $1.5 billion, an increase in the volume of cash outside banks by $1 billion (again refugee account).
As of April 1, 2022, the volume of international reserves amounted to $26.9 billion, which provides import financing for 3.9 months.
The Ukrainian IT industry in 2022 will be able to reach the indicators of 2021, provided that the current situation does not change dramatically for the worse, Andriy Yavorsky, Senior Vice President for Strategy and Technology at the Ukrainian IT company GlobalLogic, said.
According to him, in 2021, the IT sector, according to the reports of the Ministry of Economy, brought Ukraine about $6.7 billion in export earnings, and for the first quarter of 2022, according to the IT Association, about $2 billion, which would show a possible growth in IT -industry by 28-30%, if the aggravation of the military conflict had not begun.
“If there was no war, we would expect that each next quarter would be a little more than the previous one, and as a result, this year the IT industry would have to accumulate about $ 8.5 billion in export earnings (…) Due to the situation With the war, we can assume that the IT business has sunk by 5-10%,” Yavorsky said during an online meeting of the IT Media Club on Wednesday.
He noted that the IT business includes export-oriented and domestic industries, as well as telecom operators.
According to him, after the start of active hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, the export IT industry of the country sank by 5%, the domestic one even more, “but it did not account for a very large market share.
“Conventionally, the entire IT industry has fallen by 10 percent. Accordingly, it was $2 billion – now $1.7-1.8 billion. If everything remains stable, we do not expect further decline. But it is possible – the flow of new projects is rather weak. If If we look pessimistically, the industry will generate about $7 billion by the end of the year, but I still want to believe that we will make not $7 billion, but $7.5 billion,” the top manager summed up.
As reported, the Ukrainian IT company GlobalLogic notes a 2-fold reduction in the number of vacancies in the IT market of Ukraine since the beginning of the active phase of hostilities.
IT-company “GlobalLogic Ukraine” is the largest software developer in Ukraine. It has offices and more than 4.5 thousand specialists in Kyiv, Kharkov, Lvov and Nikolaev.
Tax revenues in May 2022 were in line with the pre-war plan and amounted to UAH 73 billion, head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy Danylo Getmantsev said.
“The tax revenue plan, which was approved back in peacetime, has been implemented almost completely. (…) Revenues amount to UAH 73 billion,” he wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.
