In 2024, the KSG Agro agricultural holding increased its gross revenue from pig farming to $8.9 million, which is 64% more than in the previous year, according to the press service of the agricultural holding.
“A 64% increase in profitability in a year, even in peacetime, can be considered a significant result. Even before the war, agricultural companies were accustomed to working with abnormal risks, including epidemics, crop failures, and climate change. The war has multiplied the unpredictability and the list of threats. Therefore, a high-quality risk management system is essential for agribusiness, and the current market position of our agricultural holding once again confirms this. We are ready to share our experience in risk and investment management during the war with other Ukrainian companies,” said Serhiy Kasyanov, chairman of the board of directors of the agricultural holding, as quoted by the press service.
According to him, the agricultural holding is developing vertical integration, regularly conducting stress tests of its business model, and adjusting its strategies. Ukrainian and European investors are responding positively to the agricultural holding’s obvious successes, considering it a highly profitable, albeit undervalued asset during the war.
The vertically integrated holding company KSG Agro is engaged in pig farming, as well as the production, storage, processing, and sale of grain and oilseeds. Its land bank in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions is about 21,000 hectares.
According to KSG Agro, it is one of the top five pork producers in Ukraine. In 2023, the agricultural holding company began implementing a “network-centric” strategy, under which it will move from developing a large location to a number of smaller pig farms located in different regions of Ukraine.
The European Commission has classified Russia and Belarus as countries with the highest risk level in accordance with the EU Regulation on the prevention of deforestation and forest degradation (EUDR), which is an additional safeguard against their forest products entering the European market, said Viktor Smal, head of the State Forestry Agency of Ukraine.
“The European Commission has published an updated list of countries classified according to risk level in accordance with the EUDR. Ukraine, like leading European timber producers, has been given low-risk status. This creates conditions for investors to come to Ukraine and attract investment, opening up new opportunities for Ukrainian exporters of furniture and other forest products, facilitating their entry into the European market. At the same time, Russia and Belarus are among the high-risk countries, which makes it even more difficult for their products to enter the EU. We are working to ensure that countries involved in gray import schemes for Russian timber are also included in the list of high-risk suppliers,” Smal emphasized.
He noted that despite the war, thanks to digitalization and reforms in the forestry sector, Ukraine has managed to obtain the status of a low-risk exporter on a par with Germany, Latvia, Finland, and Poland.
“This is the result of our systemic reforms and digital transformation in the forestry sector, in particular the introduction of such tools as e-logging tickets, e-certificates of origin, and e-TTN with photo documentation,” said the head of the State Forestry Agency.
As reported, in 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on imports of Russian timber, pulp, paper, other wood products, and furniture. This applies not only to imports from Russia but also to the trading of Russian timber through third countries.
According to an investigation by Earthsight, European furniture manufacturers have purchased more than 500,000 cubic meters of Russian-made birch plywood during the war, circumventing sanctions.
World Forest ID experts found that 46% of birch products supplied to the UK and labeled as originating from Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, and Latvia were actually produced in Belarus and Russia.
The EUDR, which will come into force for medium and large companies on January 1, 2026, stipulates that products imported into the EU must not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation. Countries are classified according to risk level — low, standard, and high. Low risk status simplifies exports, reduces the regulatory burden, and enhances the competitiveness of Ukrainian producers in the EU market.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/1074828.html
The Zaporizhstal steelworks in Zaporizhia is calling for restrictions on exports of scrap metal, a strategic raw material for the steel industry, and a moratorium on rail tariff increases.
According to a press release issued by the company on Monday, this was announced by Taras Shevchenko, acting CEO of Zaporizhstal, part of the Metinvest Group, during a working visit to Zaporizhia by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
Svyrydenko visited metallurgical, machine-building, and food industry enterprises. During the meeting with business representatives, current issues and expectations from state policy in the economic sphere were discussed.
According to the minister, more than 8% of Ukraine’s industrial production is concentrated in the Zaporizhzhia region, and despite the temporary occupation of 80% of the region and constant hostile attacks on the city, it produces almost 20% of the country’s metallurgical industry and about 7% of its machine-building industry.
Zaporizhstal, Motor Sich, Ivchenko-Progress, an automobile plant, and small and medium-sized businesses continue to operate in the city. Their representatives joined an open dialogue with the government’s economic team. Businesses voiced challenges and offered their own solutions to support manufacturers.
Shevchenko emphasized the urgent need to preserve duty-free trade with the EU for metallurgists and to postpone the introduction of the cross-border carbon adjustment mechanism (CBAM) in Ukraine, since national producers, unlike their European counterparts, do not have access to investments and modernization funds.
“The introduction of the CBAM in 2026 (…) will make economic recovery and the implementation of plans to modernize and decarbonize production in Ukraine impossible. Assessing the impact of the CBAM on the Ukrainian economy, experts expect GDP to fall by 4.8%, or $8.7 billion, in 2026 alone. For the same reason, the economy could lose up to $2.8 billion in tax revenues and more than 73,000 jobs in the manufacturing industry,” said the acting CEO of Zaporizhstal, citing the results of a study by CMD Ukraine.
A particularly painful issue is the mass export of Ukrainian scrap metal abroad, which causes an acute shortage of raw materials important for steel production. Shevchenko firmly believes that scrap metal can and will work better for the Ukrainian economy if it remains in the country. One ton of scrap metal for export provides minimal tax deductions and up to $350 in foreign exchange earnings, while one ton of steel from scrap metal brings in 15,000 hryvnia in taxes and $1,200 in foreign exchange earnings.
According to him, scrap metal is an indispensable raw material for the production of raw steel and metal products. The shortage of scrap forces metallurgists to pour cast iron into ingots and sell this low-margin semi-finished product. In four months, Zaporizhstal alone will offer the market pig iron with low added value instead of 300,000 tons of highly processed metal products.
“For the Ukrainian economy, the total negative effect will be approximately $75 million in lost foreign exchange earnings,” the top manager emphasized.
In addition, the CEO of the metallurgical plant also emphasized the need to establish a moratorium on increasing railway transportation tariffs. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the share of logistics in the cost of metal products has quadrupled, as mining and metallurgical companies have switched to rail transport, and the cost of the service itself has increased by up to 60%. Railway logistics is critical for metallurgists: to produce 1 ton of metal, 3 tons of raw materials must be transported. Therefore, exporting 1 ton of metal requires transporting 4 tons by rail.
“Even a slight increase in rail tariffs leads to a significant increase in the cost of production, which becomes uncompetitive in export markets. In this case, exports lose their economic meaning,” emphasized the head of Zaporizhstal.
In turn, Svyrydenko assured the meeting participants of the importance of dialogue and attention to each of the requests voiced by the business community, for which the government’s economic team is seeking solutions. In particular, these include resolving the scrap metal shortage, introducing new financial instruments to support enterprises recovering from the war, improving the 15% compensation program, and so on.
The head of the Ministry of Economy thanked Zaporizhzhia businesses for their resilience, investments, and development despite all the challenges caused by the war.
Algeria has officially launched a national initiative to attract foreign students, opening the country to those who wish to pursue higher education in the North African state. In April 2025, the Algerian government launched the digital platform STUDY IN ALGERIA — studyinalgeria.dz, which is part of an ambitious strategy to modernize and internationalize higher education.
University system and infrastructure
As of 2025, there are over 130 public and private higher education institutions in Algeria, evenly distributed throughout the country. They offer:
Studies are available in Arabic, French, or English, depending on the field of study and the institution chosen.
The Algerian education system (LMD)
The Algerian higher education system is based on the European LMD model, which includes:
Social protection and living conditions
Foreign students are provided with:
Simplified visa application
Algeria guarantees flexible visa procedures for foreign students, allowing them to complete the admission process as quickly as possible.
The platform studyinalgeria.dz allows you to:
Reference: the state of Algeria
Algeria has clearly established itself as a new educational destination on the global map. The STUDY IN ALGERIA program is an attempt to combine affordable, high-quality education, cultural diversity, and a strategic geographical location for the future generation of professionals from around the world.
According to the OpenDataBot rating, the UPG gas station chain (PP Ukrpaletsystem) has become the largest employer in the region, employing 3,800 people.
The company is showing growth of +14.5% by 2023. It is developing logistics and opening new gas stations. It has created its own fleet of tankers and fuel trucks.
According to the OpenDataBot rating, the UPG gas station chain (PP Ukrpaletsystem) has become the largest employer in the region, employing 3,800 people.
The company is showing growth of +14.5% by 2023. It is developing logistics and opening new gas stations. It has created its own fleet of tankers and fuel trucks.
