Ukraine’s GDP growth in 2021, according to preliminary estimates, will amount to 3.2%, which won’t compensate for the 4% economic decline in 2020, head of the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Bohdan Danylyshyn has said.
The World Bank has lowered its forecast for Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2022 to 3.2%, and in 2023 to 3.5%, while in October last year it expected it to increase accordingly by 3.5% and 3.7%.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has downgraded its estimate of the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022 from 3.8% to 3.4%, in 2021 – to 3% from 3.1%.
The deficit of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-November 2021 fell by 13.2% compared to January-November 2020, to $3.607 billion from $4.158 billion, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine reported.
The growth of consumer prices in Ukraine in 2021 accelerated to 10% from 5% in 2020 and 4.1% in 2019.
Inflation in the raw food group of goods in 2022 may range from 10% to 20%, which will lead to an inflationary jump to 8-10% and, in turn, will require anti-crisis measures, adviser to the Ukrainian president Oleh Ustenko has said.
The deficit of the general fund of the state budget of Ukraine in 2021 amounted to UAH 166.8 billion, while the plan was UAH 220.9 billion, and in December the deficit of the general fund was UAH 109.1 billion, the Ministry of Finance reported with reference to the operational data of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine.
The total state debt of Ukraine in December grew by 4.04% in U.S. dollars to $97.95 billion, in hryvnias by 4.43%, to UAH 2.671 trillion, according to data on the website of the Ministry of Finance, released on Wednesday.
Industrial production in Ukraine grew by 1.1% in 2021, while a 5.2% decline was recorded in 2020.
Ukraine in January-November 2021 sold industrial products (goods, services) worth UAH 3.185 trillion, which is 44.2% more than in January-November 2020 (UAH 2.209 trillion), including outside the country in the amount of UAH 920.471 billion.
Real wages in Ukraine in December 2021 increased by 11.9% compared to December 2020, and compared to November 2021, the growth was 21.5%.
The volume of construction work performed in Ukraine in 2021 increased by 5.1% compared to 2020, while the growth rate in 2020 compared to 2019, according to updated data, was 5.6%.
The transport enterprises of Ukraine in 2021 increased transportation of goods by 3.3% compared to 2020 – up to 619.9 million tonnes.
Since the beginning of the 2021/2022 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of January 21, Ukraine has exported 36.08 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops, which is 27.6% more than the figures for the same date of the previous marketing year.
Publisher of “Open4Business”, PhD in Economics, Maksim Urakin.
Previously Experts Business Club created a video summary dedicated to macroeconomics.
Full video watch here
Sales of meat for slaughter in Ukraine (in live weight) in January of this year decreased by 1.5% compared to January 2021, to 307,300 tonnes, milk production – by 1.5%, to 522,100 tonnes, and eggs – by 8.1%, to 934.6 million pieces.
According to the website of the State Statistics Service, as of February 1, 2022, the total number of poultry in Ukraine increased by 0.7% compared to the same date last year, to 193.9 million birds. The number of pigs decreased by 3.4%, to 5.56 million animals, cattle – by 6.5%, to 2.7 million animals (including the number of cows – by 6.6%, to 1 .55 million animals), and sheep and goats – by 3.3%, to 1.09 million animals.
As of the indicated date, the number of cattle and pigs in the households of the population decreased the most – to 1.7 million animals of cattle (9.7% less versus February 1, 2021) and 1.92 million pigs (7.5% less). At the same time, by February 1, 2022, the country recorded an increase in the number of poultry at agricultural enterprises by 2.9%, to 110.9 million birds, and sheep and goats – by 8%, to 165,000 animals.
The population of cows at agricultural enterprises also increased by 0.2%, to 423,700 animals, while the total number of cattle decreased by 0.5%, to 1 million animals.
Sales of poultry for slaughter by agricultural enterprises in January 2022 increased by 3.8% compared to January a year earlier, to 56.96 million birds, sheep and goats – by 60.2%, to 3,700 animals, while sales of pigs decreased by 10.5%, to 0.35 million animals, and cattle – by 0.4%, to 23,100 animals.
Sales of eggs by agricultural enterprises for the specified period decreased by 12.3%, to 570,000 pieces, while the households reduced their sales by 1.4%, to 360,900 pieces.
The State Statistics Service specified that in January of this year, Kyiv region became the leader in production of eggs – 241.1 million eggs (9.3% less compared to January 2021), Khmelnytsky region – 68.6 million pieces (5.2% more), Dnipropetrovsk region – 56.1 million pieces (9.7% less) and Cherkasy region – 52.1 million pieces (13.7% less).
According to the statistics service, in January of this year, Ukrainian agricultural enterprises increased milk production by 6.9% compared to January last year, to 243,300 tonnes, while its production by households decreased by 7.8%, to 278,800 tonnes.
Most milk was produced in Poltava region – 50,900 tonnes (0.2% less), Vinnytsia region – 45,100 tonnes (7.8% less), Khmelnytsky – 40,000 tonnes (2.8% more), as well as Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions – by 34,000 tonnes (more by 2.1% and 2.7% respectively).
Over 2021, mobile operator Lifecell LLC (lifecell) received a net profit of UAH 610.9 million, which is 4.24 times less than in 2020 (UAH 2.589 billion), according to the company’s financial statements.
At the same time, the operator’s income in 2021 increased by 24.1%, to UAH 8.483 billion.
EBITDA increased by 30.9%, to UAH 4.751 billion, while EBITDA margin increased by 2.9 percentage points (p.p.), to 56%.
Lifecell’s capital investments in 2021 increased by 3.2%, to UAH 3.594 billion.
According to the information provided, in the fourth quarter of 2021, the operator’s income increased by 25.7%, to UAH 2.406 billion. EBITDA in the October-December quarter increased by 26.5%, to UAH 1.319 billion.
On an annual basis, the operator’s active three-month subscriber base in 2021 expanded by 13.6%, to 9.2 million (compared to 8.1 million in 2020).
The active three-month 4.5G subscriber base in 2021 grew 32% year-on-year to 73% of total mobile data users at the end of the year. Average data consumption per user in the fourth quarter of 2021 grew by 13%, mainly due to higher data usage by 4.5G users, the company notes. The penetration of smartphones in the lifecell network at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 was 83%.
The company’s active three-month ARPU increased by 12.3% in 2021 and amounted to UAH 83.2 compared to last year’s figure of UAH 74.1. At the same time, the 12-month MoU increased 2.7% year-on-year, while falling 3.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter.
Operator lifecell is the third largest mobile operator in Ukraine. Turkcell (Turkey) owns 100% shares of Lifecell LLC.
Ferrexpo Poltava Mining (FPM) and Ferrexpo Yeristovo Mining (FYM), which are the Ferrexpo Group’s subsidiaries, in January 2022, successfully passed a social responsibility audit as per the SMETA methodology, which was carried out by the Intertek international company.
The audit explored the extent of the employees’ social protection and ran across production subdivisions, support services and Administration. Collective and individual interviews were also held at all levels of key and support personnel and contractor workforce.
The approaches of the Companies’ management to the social security of their employees, free transportation to the workplace, high-quality medical care at the company-owned Medical Unit, health and life insurance were positively noted.
The social audit outcomes will be posted on the Sedex platform official website.
Inna Us, Head of Projects and Programmes – Lead Auditor on Social Responsibility and Management Systems of Intertek Ukraine:
“According to the audit data, it has been found that these companies are in compliance with the requirements of the conventions of the International Labor Organization and the SMETA program. The employer provides the conditions for safe work, working hours meet the requirements of Ukrainian Law and industry standards, there is no discrimination and the company is guided by the regulations that fully protect the employees’ rights.”
Yaroslavna Blonska, Head of Sales Europe – External Relations Officer Ferrexpo:
“For the first time, we passed the social responsibility audit using the SMETA methodology and received a high rating from the international company Intertek. The positive opinion of the auditors testifies not only to the high quality of production, but also to the worthy level of social responsibility of our companies. The results of the analysis once again confirmed that Ferrexpo has created the required conditions for safe operation, implements high technologies to reduce the adverse impact of its activities on the environment and is a reliable business partner both in Ukraine and in international markets.”
Audit reference:
Sedex Members EThical Audit is an audit that assesses a company’s compliance with established requirements in four main areas: occupational health and safety, environment, working conditions, and supplier’s goodwill.
The outcomes of the SMETA social responsibility audit are recognized in more than 160 countries of the world and are a weighty and undeniable argument in confirming the company’s compliance with the moral standards of its external and internal business processes.
Company reference:
Ferrexpo is a Swiss headquartered iron ore company with assets in Ukraine and a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange in the FTSE 250 index (ticker FXPO). The Group produces high grade iron ore pellets, which are a premium product for the global steel industry and enable reduced carbon emissions and increased productivity for steelmakers when the Group’s iron ore pellets are converted into steel, compared to more commonly traded forms of iron ore. Ferrexpo’s operations have been supplying the global steel industry for over 40 years and in 2021 the Group produced 11.2 million tonnes of iron ore pellets, placing Ferrexpo as the world’s 3 rd largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry with a market share of approximately 9%. The Group has a global customer base comprising of premium steel mills around the world, which includes steel mills in Austria, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Vietnam and America. For further information, please visit www.ferrexpo.com
Intertek reference:
Intertek is an industry leader with over 43,800 employees from 1,000 offices in over 100 countries. The company helps local and global businesses meet the quality, health, environment, safety and social responsibility standards of virtually every market worldwide. More information can be found at www.intertek.com.
The enterprises of the Ukrtruboprom association increased production of pipes by 2.5 times in January 2022 y-o-y, to 69,200 tonnes.
According to a press release from the association on Thursday, all pipe plants of Ukrtruboprom demonstrated positive dynamics. In particular, Interpipe Niko Tube and Trubostal increased production of seamless pipes by 4.2 times and by 60% respectively, Centravis – stainless pipes by 29%, and Interpipe Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant – electric-welded pipes by almost 14 times.
Heorhiy Polsky, General Director of Ukrtruboprom, said that the favorable situation in foreign markets, associated primarily with rising prices for hydrocarbons, allowed Ukrainian pipe plants to maximize its production capacity.
“Some enterprises have already formed a portfolio of orders for several months in advance. At the same time, high gas prices in Ukraine are still a risk factor, making production of certain types of pipe products economically unfeasible,” the CEO said, whose words are quoted in the press release.
