The TAS Agro agricultural holding has completed the 2025 early grain harvest, gathering over 130,000 tons of grain from an area of 22,000 hectares, the holding’s press service reported on Facebook.
TAS Agro noted that the average yield of winter wheat was 5.9 tons per hectare, exceeding the planned figures. The best results were in the Northern cluster (Chernihiv region), where the yield reached over 7 tons per hectare.
“The 2025 harvest was a test for all farmers, as rainy weather during the peak harvesting period slowed down the pace of work and could have affected the quality of the grain. However, the agricultural holding used all available resources to ensure the timely harvesting of the crop, and its elevators ensured the timely reception and high-quality storage of the harvest,” said Oleg Zapletnyuk, CEO of TAS Agro.
According to him, 75 grain harvesters and other necessary equipment were involved in the harvest.
According to the CEO, the agricultural holding achieved good results thanks to timely changes in cultivation technology, systematic analytics, and the responsible and coordinated work of all divisions. TAS Agro began the 2026 sowing campaign and soil preparation for winter wheat sowing in parallel with the harvest. As of mid-August, 11,000 hectares of winter rapeseed have been sown out of the planned 16,000 hectares.
The company’s clusters are preparing for the harvesting of late crops and a range of autumn field work. Sunflower harvesting will begin soon in the Southern cluster.
The agricultural holding is part of the TAS Group, which was founded in 1998. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance), pharmaceuticals, industry, real estate, and venture projects.
The founder of TAS and beneficiary of the TAS Agro agricultural holding is Serhiy Tihipko.
In a week or two, it will be clear whether the war will end or the fighting will continue, according to US President Donald Trump.
“I think President Putin wants to find an answer, and we’ll see. And if after a certain amount of time, not too far from today, a week or two, we’ll know whether we’ve solved this problem or whether these terrible battles will continue. We will do everything we can to put an end to this,“ Trump said before meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.
He noted that there are two sides ”that want to make a deal.”
“And it’s possible that it won’t work out. On the other hand, it’s possible that it will work out. And we will save thousands and thousands of lives every week. So this is what we really have to do. Or at least we have to make every effort. But I think we can get a very good result,” Trump stressed.
New Zealand has faced an accelerated outflow of population abroad: in the year ending June 2025, 71,800 citizens left the country, the highest figure in 13 years, according to media reports citing official data from Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ). The main destinations for relocation are Australia and the UK. The outflow is accompanied by a weakening economy and rising unemployment to 5.2% in the second quarter, Reuters notes.
At the same time, the total net migration gain (arrivals minus departures, including foreigners) in June 2025 was only +13,700 people, compared to +70,400 a year earlier, according to the latest release from Stats NZ. In other words, the migration “shoulder” supporting demographics has shrunk fivefold.
According to industry analysts, in the 12 months to June 2025, ~138,900 people arrived in the country for the long term, while ~125,200 left, resulting in a modest net gain of +13,700. For comparison, a year earlier, the inflow exceeded +70,000, and the monthly contribution of migration to the population fell from ~6,000 to ~1,000 people.
Experts attribute the increased “outflow” of citizens to a combination of factors: weak GDP growth, a cooling labor market, and improved employment opportunities abroad (primarily in Australia).
The age structure of those leaving is dominated by young professionals under 30, which increases the risk of a “brain drain.” According to media reports, the authorities hope to stabilize the situation by easing monetary conditions and making targeted adjustments to migration policies.
However, the coming quarters are expected to be influenced by high outflows of residents, accompanied by a decline in foreign arrivals compared to the record levels of 2023-2024.
According to Stats NZ, New Zealand’s population was estimated at 5.33 million as of March 31, 2025; further dynamics will largely depend on migration flows.
The Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan and the Afghan state energy company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) have signed agreements on infrastructure development worth a total of $243 million.
In particular, the following major projects have been approved:
During the ceremony, DABS CEO Abdul Bari Omar called these four agreements vital for ensuring a reliable power supply in Afghanistan.
An agreement was also signed between DABS and Uzbek companies for the supply of electricity for a period of 10 years.
For reference: Uzbekistan has been supplying electricity to Afghanistan since 2002. Last December, Uzbekistan extended its agreement to export electricity to Afghanistan until 2025. Afghanistan imports 80% of its electricity from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, with the rest produced domestically.
Consulting agency UkrAgroConsult forecasts a 5.7% decline in sunflower harvest in the 2025 season to 13.3 million tons from 14.1 million tons in the previous forecast due to drought in southern and eastern Ukraine, the agency’s press service reported.
“Crop losses are mainly observed in the southern and eastern regions, where drought has significantly affected crops. In contrast, the situation is more favorable in the northern and western regions, where rains have been regular. Sunflower yields are expected to increase during harvesting in the northwestern belt, as was the case with wheat and barley,” the agency said.
Analysts added that market estimates of the sunflower harvest range from 12.8 to 13.5 million tons. Therefore, UkrAgroConsult sticks to the upper end of the estimate due to the expansion of acreage in the west and north after the start of the war. However, seed quality is a concern due to diseases caused by rains during harvesting in these regions.
UkrAgroConsult has more optimistic forecasts for corn.
“The main growing regions have sufficient moisture levels, and crops in the south account for a small share. This year’s pollination and grain filling period coincided with more favorable temperatures compared to last year, and periodic rains contributed to crop development,” experts said.
Market estimates of the corn harvest range from 28 million tons to 35 million tons, but at the end of July, UkrAgroConsult raised its forecast by 2 million tons to 32.5 million tons, or 6.6%, which is one of the highest figures on the market.
UkrAgroConsult’s wheat harvest forecast remains stable at 22 million tons. As of August 7, almost 15 million tons had been harvested from 74% of the planted area. The remaining 26% is in regions with the highest yields, which gives grounds for optimism, the agency concluded.
Insurance company Knyazha Vienne Insurance Group (Knyazha VIG”, Kyiv) in January-June 2025 collected UAH 1.808 billion of insurance payments, which is 58.61% more than in the same period a year earlier, net premiums amounted to UAH 1.161 billion (+17.21%). This information has been published by Standard-Rating, having confirmed the financial strength/credit rating of the insurer at the level of “uaAA+” following the results of the specified period.
According to the RA website, for the specified period receipts from individuals have grown by 61,71% – up to UAH 1,310 billion, and from reinsurers – by 77,13%, up to UAH 3,943 mln.
According to the results of the first half of 2025, the share of individuals in the gross premiums of the company amounted to 72,43%, and the share of reinsurers – 0,22%.
Insurance payments sent to reinsurers, for the first half of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024 have increased more than in 4,3 times – up to UAH 646,786 mln. Thus, the ratio of reinsurance companies’ participation in insurance premiums has increased by 22,69 p.p. up to 35,78%. – up to 35,78%.
The volumes of insurance payments and indemnities made by the company in the first half of 2025, compared to the same period of 2024, have increased by 39,11% – up to UAH 615,675 mln, the level of payments has decreased by 4,78 p.p. – to 34.05%.
Operating profit for 6M. 2025 increased 14.27 times to UAH 109.577 mln, and net profit increased 6.4 times to UAH 144.258 mln.
Assets of the company as of July 1, 2025 increased by 28.27% – to UAH 2.796 billion, shareholders’ equity – by 33.83% – to UAH 602.017 million, liabilities – by 26.82% – to UAH 2.194 billion, cash and cash equivalents – by 5.81% – to UAH 86.279 million.
RA notes that as of the beginning of Q3 2025 the company had a satisfactory level of capitalization (27,44%), and cash covered 3,93% of its liabilities. At the same time, on the reporting date the insurer has made current financial investments in the amount of UAH 1,404 billion, which consisted of government bonds (77,89% of the investment portfolio), as well as of deposits in banks with a high level of credit rating (22,11% of the portfolio). Liquid assets have covered 67,95% of insurer liabilities.
Private JSC IC Knyazha Viena Insurance Group is a part of NFG Vienna Insurance Group Ukraine, the main shareholder of which is Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (Austria).
