President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola did not rule out that the war in Ukraine could lead to real famine in different regions of the world, and called on the heads of state and government of the EU countries to find ways to export food from Ukraine for export.
“The threat (of food insecurity) goes beyond Europe. It is possible that the world will face real hunger. If Ukraine is not allowed to work in its fields, we will face a global multi-year food shortage,” she said on Monday at an emergency EU summit.
Metsola accused Russia of blackmailing the whole world and “stealing” grain produced by Ukraine.
“We urgently need to find ways to ship grain from Ukraine to those regions of the world where it is most needed,” she urged. “We must expand the “corridors of solidarity” as announced by the European Commission, and explore other possibilities for the export of grain.”
Prices for goods imported into Germany jumped 31.7% in April, a record pace since the 1974 oil crisis, according to the country’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
In particular, the cost of energy imports soared 2.5 times (157.4%) in annual terms, including natural gas increased in price four times, oil – almost 1.8 times (77.5%). Excluding energy carriers, import prices increased by 27.6%.
Among other categories of goods, the most impressive growth was recorded by prices for fertilizers and nitrogen (by 2.9 times), aluminum (by 1.8 times), iron, steel and ferroalloys (by 1.6 times). Imported plastic rose in price by 27.7%, machinery – by 7.9%, cars and auto parts – by 5.7%.
The cost of foreign purchases of food products increased by 20.7%, including coffee – by 68.6%, cereals – by 55.8%.
Compared to March, prices for imported goods increased by 1.8%.
On Monday, the Cabinet of Ministers registered in the Verkhovna Rada draft law No. 7418 amending the Tax Code and other laws on the return of all customs duties and VAT on imported goods, including cars.
According to the draft law registered in Parliament on the revision of certain tax benefits, it is proposed to abolish the customs-free import of cars.
The document also proposes to resume taxation, which was abolished by law No. 2142, for goods imported by single tax payers of the first or third group, since on average the budget loses about UAH 3 billion in import duties on this benefit per month, as well as for enterprises that do not pay import duties – budget losses here average UAH 0.5 billion in import duties.
As for the abolition of preferential auto imports, the government notes that over 119,000 cars were imported during the period of this rule, and budget losses amount to UAH 13 billion, according to the explanatory note to the bill. At the same time, there are not isolated cases of importing premium cars.
At the same time, the bill proposes to exempt those who acquire ownership of electric vehicles from paying the fee for compulsory state insurance.
As noted in the explanatory note, the amount of customs benefits for registered imports of phones amounted to UAH 270 million, clothing and footwear – over UAH 850 million.
The current price of gasoline at 52-55 UAH/liter and diesel fuel at 58-60 UAH/liter is the equilibrium point for the market, but with the gradual arrival of new volumes of oil products, the price for them will decrease, the director of the A-95 consulting group believes Sergey Kuyun.
“With prices of UAH 52-55/liter for gasoline and UAH 58-60/liter for diesel fuel, as I see it, the market feels normal, queues are decreasing. To some extent, the market has found a balance point, and then it will begin to fill with new batches, and this should lead to lower prices,” he said at a briefing at the Media Center in Kyiv on Monday.
At the same time, Kuyun noted that the price of fuel at 40-45 UAH per liter, which was determined during state regulation, was fair for a stable, secure market, “which we do not have today.”
“Accordingly, we need to reduce consumption, bring down the hype,” the expert said.
As reported, according to the A-95 group, the average retail prices for gasoline and diesel fuel in Ukraine increased by 22-30% in the period May 16-23, in particular, the average retail prices for A-95 gasoline increased by 10%. 72 UAH/liter, up to 50.84 UAH/liter, premium A-95 – by 9.85 UAH/liter, up to 51.51 UAH/liter.
In addition, retail prices for diesel fuel increased by UAH 13.24/liter, up to UAH 56.49/liter, for liquefied gas, by UAH 4.14/liter, up to UAH 39.24/liter.
By Resolution No. 594 of May 17, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers suspended the state regulation of fuel prices introduced a year ago due to quarantine, expecting that gasoline prices would not exceed UAH 52/liter, diesel fuel – UAH 58/liter.
The decision to cancel the maximum margin for gas stations was made so that market operators could saturate the Ukrainian oil market with the necessary resource in the face of its shortage after reorienting to supplies from the western border and the Kremenchug refinery bombed by Russia.
At the same time, the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection announced the start of inspections of gas stations based on consumer complaints about inflated prices, refusal to pay with cards and the absence of settlement documents.
A delegation of South Korea’s ruling People’s Power party will visit Ukraine next month, Yonhap reports citing officials.
Party chairman Lee Jung Suk and some party lawmakers will travel to Ukraine in early June as part of a “special delegation of Korean-Ukrainian freedom, peace and solidarity,” they said.
The exact date of the visit has not yet been determined.
“South Koreans deplore the situation in Ukraine and hope for a speedy peace,” the party’s press release quoted the agency as saying.
As noted in the Power of the People, their party will be the first political party in Asia to send a delegation to Ukraine.
Number of dead and wounded civilians in Ukraine as a result of military actions from 24.02.2022 according to un data (per)
Data: UN
