Velta US Inc (the United States), the parent company of Production and Commercial Company Velta LLC with assets for the extraction of titanium-containing ores in Novomyrhorod, Kirovohrad region, intends to increase supplies of ilmenite concentrate to the United States by 15-23% in 2022.
According to the company’s press release, Velta in January held a meeting of the advisory board formed in October 2021 to discuss further expanding the company’s presence in the U.S. market, taking into account the review of signed contracts for 2022.
“This year, the company will increase its supplies of ilmenite concentrate to the U.S. by 15-23%. This process is also facilitated by the shortage of high-titanium raw materials in the North American market, which Velta is able to fully satisfy. I believe that this is only the beginning, and the company has great growth prospects, especially in the U.S. market,” Matthew Murray, a member of the advisory board of Velta U.S. Inc., the former deputy assistant secretary of commerce for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said.
During the meeting, Andriy Brodsky, the CEO of Velta, voiced his support for the recently passed Section 6505 of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act by the U.S. authorities, which calls for the U.S. Department of State to prepare a report on U.S.-Ukrainian cooperation in the context of reducing America’s dependence from titanium supplies from China and Russia, including due to an increase in supplies from Ukraine.
“Velta is ready to get involved in the process of developing mechanisms for cooperation between the United States and Ukraine regarding the supply and processing of titanium, as well as provide any necessary information and data for the formation of the Department of State report on the creation of new supply chains in the United States,” Brodsky said.
At the same time, it is noted that positive trends in Velta’s cooperation with American partners can become catalysts for the expansion of the existing mining complex and the launch of the Lekarevsky asset.
As reported, Velta US Inc created an advisory board on October 13, 2021 and is conducting a separation of mining and innovation business areas. At that time, it was announced that Matthew Murray, as the first member of the advisory board, would oversee the development of the company’s strategic vision and partnership in the U.S. market.
Export of Ukrainian agricultural foods to the countries of the European Union in 2021 grew in monetary terms by 33% compared to 2020, to $8.3 billion due to an increase in the supply of agricultural products to foreign markets and its rise in price, according to a posting on the website of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) on Wednesday.
According to UCAB, the peak months for the export of agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU were December ($1 billion), October ($0.98 billion) and November ($0.97 billion). The lowest export rates were recorded in July ($0.48 billion), April ($0.49 billion) and March ($0.5 billion).
In 2021, nine quotas for duty-free exports to the EU have also been fully used, namely for honey, cereals, flour, starch, processed starch, processed tomatoes, grape and apple juice, chicken eggs, poultry meat (parts), and processed cereal products.
“Compared to 2020, the situation has changed with the use of quotas for the supply of sugar and corn to the EU, or rather with their incomplete use. As for sugar, last year the quota was used by 87% due to a shortage in the domestic market of this product. At the same time, the quota for corn was used by only 5% due to increased demand for this type of grain and the availability of more attractive export channels for Ukrainian farmers,” UCAB said, quoting its analyst Svitlana Lytvyn.
In addition, UCAB said that as of January 18, 2022, Ukraine has fully used the first-quarter quotas for the export of eggs and poultry meat to the EU, as well as the annual quota for the export of honey.
As reported, Ukraine in 2020, within the framework of a free trade area (FTA) agreement with the EU, fully used 11 quotas for duty-free export of agricultural products, while in 2019 there were 12 of them.
Specialists of the bridge-building division of the Avtostrada group of companies continue erecting the left-bank interchange of the Darnytsky Bridge in Kyiv; currently, work is being carried out simultaneously on all the main structures of the exit ramps – pillars and sheet-pile bulkheads are being installed, concrete work is also underway, metal structures are being manufactured, and bored piles are being installed.
The press service of the group reported on Tuesday, in particular, at object No. 8L towards Bazhana Avenue, which length will be 140 meters, 18 units of the sheet-pile bulkhead have already been installed, each weighing 14-15 tonnes. Grouting concrete is being poured into them. A truck crane with a lifting capacity of 100 tonnes was used to carry out these works. The 9th grillage of the sheet-pile bulkhead is being concreted, sheet pile wall is being installed along the embankment.
Work to install bored piles, concreting of grillages, as well as installation and concreting of backwall units continues at object No. 9L.
Avtostrada specialists are installing grillages, pillar bodies, ledgers, as well as bored piles with a diameter of 1.5 meters at objects No. 3L and No. 4L.
Two modern powerful drilling rigs Bauer BG 45 and Bauer BG 36 are involved in the installation of bored piles at the site. In total, more than 50 units of specialized equipment are involved, 110 specialists from the Avtostrada bridge-building division are working on the bridge.
The project provides for the construction of two ramps to the Dnipro River embankment (towards Bazhana Avenue and towards the Paton Bridge) and a bridge entrance ramp (from the side of Bazhana Avenue).
As reported, early October 2021, regional branch Pivdenno-Zakhidna Railway of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia signed a contract for UAH 1.15 billion with Avtostrada to carry out construction work on the railway-road bridge across the Dnipro River in Kyiv.
The Avtostrada group is one of the leaders in the road construction industry and is part of the MS Capital holding. It carries out major repairs and builds roads and bridges. It has more than 2,500 units of specialized equipment and 5,500 full-time employees.
A large Ukrainian manufacturer of corrugated board – Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill-Ukraine LLC – in 2021 produced goods worth UAH 2.308 billion, which is 79.3% more than in the same period of 2020.
According to the statistics of the Ukrpapir association provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the mill has thus accelerated the growth rate of this indicator over the same period last year – in January-September it was 75.2%.
In quantity terms, the mill increased production of containerboard (including corrugated paper) by 12.8%, to almost 93,000 tonnes, but reduced production of corrugated boxes from it by 6.5%, to 81.7 million square meters. In addition, paper production decreased by almost 44.5%, to 600 tonnes.
Poninka paper mill (formerly the Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill), once the largest manufacturer of school exercise books, was founded in the village of Poninka more than 200 years ago. Currently, it has one main production – paper and cardboard, and produces mainly corrugated packaging, as well as wrapping, recycled paper.
In terms of production of corrugated packaging, the mill currently ranks third in Ukraine after the leading manufacturers – Rubizhne and Kyivsky cardboard mills.
The main pipe enterprises of Ukraine in 2021 increased the production of pipes made of ferrous metals, according to operational data, by 15.1% compared to the previous year, to 980,700 tonnes, including 78,800 tonnes produced in December tonnes.
As a source in the government told Interfax-Ukraine, in particular, enterprises of the Ukrtruboprom association last year increased pipe production by 32.6%, to 710,500 tonnes, including 65,800 tonnes produced in December.
At the same time, the source said that after the pipe-rolling production of Interpipe Nyzhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant formally became part of Interpipe Niko Tube from April 2021, the statistics of pipe production at these enterprises changed. In accordance with the updated statistics, there was no production of pipes at Interpipe Interpipe Nyzhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant in June-December 2021, while at Interpipe Niko Tube it amounted to 57,000 tonnes last month, and in 2021 it doubled to 592,500 tonnes.
The production of pipes at Interpipe Interpipe Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant over the past year decreased by 24.3%, to 59,400 tonnes (in December it was 6,700 tonnes).
The Dnipropetrovsk Pipe Plant was idle last year, while in 2020 it produced 300 tonnes. Centravis reduced production by 2.2%, to 18,000 tonnes of stainless steel pipes (1,900 tonnes in December).
The Trubostal plant increased its output by 17.6% – up to 2 thousand tonnes of pipes (0.2 thousand tonnes).
Mariupol Illich Iron and Steel Works, which is not part of the Ukrtruboprom association, reduced the production of pipes by 28.7%, to 108,600 tonnes (in December it was 100 tonnes), Kominmet cut output by 1.3%, up to 161,600 tonnes (12,900 tonnes in December).
