The turnover of retail trade in Ukraine in November 2021 compared to the same month in 2020 in comparable prices increased by 5.8%, while in October the growth was 5.7%, the State Statistics Service reported.
According to its data, in November compared to October 2021, retail turnover increased by 0.1%.
In January-November 2021, compared to January-November 2020, the retail trade turnover increased by 11.2%, to UAH 1.29 trillion.
The largest growth in retail trade turnover of enterprises (legal entities and individual entrepreneurs) for the 11 months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 was recorded in Chernivtsi (by 27.6%), Ternopil (by 24.4%), Zakarpattia (by 20.3%), Vinnytsia (by 19%), Lviv (by 18.1%), Poltava (by 17.5%), Rivne (by 15.3%), Cherkasy (by 13.3%), Khmelnytsky (by 13%), Odesa (12.6%), Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernihiv (12.4%), Kyiv (12%), Mykolaiv (11.5%) regions.
According to the statistics department, the leaders in absolute indicators of the volume of retail trade in 11 months ending November 30, 2021 were: Kyiv city (UAH 248.785 billion), Dnipropetrovsk (UAH 118.223 billion), Kyiv (UAH 108.185 billion), Odesa (UAH 95.664 billion), Kharkiv (UAH 87.153 billion) and Lviv (UAH 79.974 billion) regions.
The State Statistics Service said that the turnover of retail enterprises (legal entities) in November 2021 compared to November 2020 grew by 6.4%, compared with October 2021 – by 0.1%, amounting to UAH 92.464 billion.
At the same time, in January-November this year, the retail trade turnover of enterprises increased by 11.4% (compared to January-November last year), to UAH 933.435 billion.
The wholesale turnover of enterprises (legal entities) in January-November 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 fell by 7% and amounted to UAH 3.006 trillion.
The State Statistics Service reminds that the data are given without taking into account the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine plans to open a new embassy building in Turkey next year.
“We have begun to build the first Embassy in Turkey over the past 10 years. It is modern and very cool. We are sure that next year we will open this Embassy. The task is to build it quickly. The main thing is still quality,” Zelensky told reporters at a conference of Ukrainian ambassadors at the state residence Synehora in Ivano-Frankivsk region on Tuesday.
He also added that within the framework of the conference, the issue of updating the diplomatic missions of Ukraine in other countries was discussed.
In January-November of this year, Ukrainian coke and chemical plants reduced production of metallurgical coke with 6% moisture content by 1% compared to the same period last year, to 8.731 million tonnes.
As the Ukrkoks association of coke and chemical enterprises (Dnipro) told Interfax-Ukraine, in November 727,000 tonnes of coke were produced.
Director General of Ukrkoks Anatoliy Starovoit told Interfax-Ukraine that in November and December the country’s coke and chemical enterprises operate at approximately the same load.
“There are slight fluctuations in production, when one battery is removed, the other is introduced, but in general these are minor changes,” the agency’s interlocutor stated.
According to him, the share of import coking coal supplies to coke and chemical plants amounted to 71.9% over 11 months of 2021, while over 11 months of 2020 – 72.7%.
“In total, in January-November of this year, 11.834 million tonnes of coal and concentrate were supplied to coke and chemical plants, including coal of Ukrainian production – 3.32 million tonnes, and 8.5 million tonnes of imported coal. In particular, 5.4 million tonnes of coal and concentrate were imported from the Russian Federation, 2.3 million tonnes from the USA and Canada, 711,000 tonnes from Kazakhstan, and the rest in small volumes – from Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries,” Starovoit said.
At the same time, the CEO reported updated data for 2022, according to which 14.2 million tonnes of coking coal will be required to smelt 21.5 million tonnes of cast iron. “On average, 460 kg of coke per tonne of cast iron,” the agency’s interlocutor said.
Earlier it was predicted that for the smelting of 21.5 million tonnes of cast iron in 2022, some 9.9 million tonnes of metallurgical coke, or 11.5 million tonnes of gross coke, would be required, for which 15.7 million tonnes of coking coals would be needed, including 12 million tonnes of imported coal.
“We have adjusted the demand for coke to 460 kg per tonne of cast iron, whereas earlier we used about 500 kg per tonne of cast iron,” Starovoit said.
According to recent data, over 11 months, in particular, Avdiyivka Coke and Chemical Plant reduced coke output by 9.7% compared to January-November 2020, to 2.417 million tonnes (224,000 tonnes were produced in November), Azovstal – by 9.8%, to 1.111 million tonnes (97,000 tonnes), Dniprovsky Coke and Chemical Plant – by 6.3%, to 505,000 tonnes (43,000 tonnes), Dniprokoks increased production by 10.7%, to 526,000 tonnes (51,000 tonnes), and Zaporizhkoks decreased production by 0.8%, to 887,000 tonnes (75,000 tonnes). Kharkiv Coke and Chemical Plant is idle. Coke production at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih increased by 10%, to 2.640 million tonnes (188,000 tonnes), and at Pivdenkoks – by 7.7%, to 645,000 tonnes (50,000 tonnes).
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) on Tuesday fined a total of UAH 283.62 million a group of companies (Interstarch Ukraine LLC, PrJSC Dniprovsky starch-molasses plant, PrJSC Intercorn) related to the Roshen confectionery corporation, the beneficial owner of Oleksiy Poroshenko (son of the fifth President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko).
“The fine was imposed for two violations of the legislation on the protection of economic competition through abuse of monopoly position in the national market for the primary sale of corn syrup and glucose syrups,” the committee said in a press release.
The committee claimed that the specified group unreasonably increased prices for molasses and syrups in April-June 2018, February-March 2019 and October 2020, and also set different conditions for equivalent agreements with buyers of this product during 2018-2020 without justified reasons.
During the investigation, which lasted a year and a half, the committee established that in 2018-2020 the group was the only producer of molasses in Ukraine and the largest and most powerful market participant with shares of 65.49% (in 2018), 93.86% (in 2019) and 79.75% (in 2020), with importers being the only competitors.
It was also found that the group is the only producer of corn starch in Ukraine with shares of 74.26% (in 2018) and 96.79% (in 2019).
“By analyzing the price behavior of the group, it was found that during 2018-2020, the price for the molasses and syrup increased and decreased by it haphazardly. The group carried out price exemptions for certain business entities (confectionery factories),” the committee said.
In particular, according to the committee, one of the buyers of molasses was offered low prices in an attempt to prevent the transfer to a competitor (importer) – Amylco LLC (Rostov region of the Russian Federation), as well as to prevent other buyers of molasses, which capacities located in the eastern part of Ukraine.
“At the same time, the committee established that at present, the Ukrkondprom association has begun to receive initiatives to impose a ban on the import of molasses from the Russian Federation. And on January 8, 2019, by government resolution No. 1154, the ban was introduced,” the committee said.
In addition, the committee revealed that the group applied various conditions in contracts for the supply of molasses with buyers without objectively justified reasons: the procedure for ordering and agreeing on the supply of goods, terms of payment for goods, sanctions, etc.
According to the committee, the group’s participation in vertical integration – from growing corn to producing confectionery products – could give Roshen a significant competitive advantage by purchasing molasses at lower prices than other confectioners.
As a result, the committee fined UAH 210.19 million Interstarch Ukraine LLC, UAH 47.46 million PrJSC Dniprovsky starch-molasses plant and UAH 25.98 million PrJSC Intercorn, and also ordered them to terminate violations.
After eight years have passed since the Euromaidan events, more than a third of Ukrainians would not support either supporters or opponents of protest actions today – this is 34.8%.
According to a poll conducted by the Social Monitoring Center, today 22.1% of Ukrainian citizens surveyed remain Maidan supporters, 19.2% consider themselves Maidan supporters, but with certain conditions (or under certain circumstances).
Some 8.4% of the respondents identified themselves as opponents of the Maidan and supporters of Antimaidan, and 6.8% consider themselves to be opponents of the Maidan, however, with certain conditions (or under certain circumstances).
Some 8.8% of respondents found it difficult to answer the question of sociologists.
Some 40.8% of respondents in the West of Ukraine called themselves unequivocal supporters of the Maidan, in the center – 29.4%, in the east – 7.8%, in Donbas – 5.3%, in the south of the country – 10.5%, in the city of Kyiv – 25.7%.
Some 0.7% of respondents in the West of Ukraine, 4% in the center, 17.4% in the east, 11% in Donbas, 15.1% in the south and 7.2% in Kyiv consider themselves to be unequivocal opponents of the Maidan – supporters of Antimaidan.
The poll was conducted from November 28 to December 10 using a face-to-face interview method. Some 10,000 respondents were interviewed. The standard deviation is 0.6 – 1%.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that Ukraine expects to further develop cooperation with Japan in the spheres of economy, IT and culture, the press service of the government reported.
“I am sure that Japan, as one of the world’s largest investors, can also become one of the leaders in foreign direct investment in the Ukrainian economy,” Shmyhal said following a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda.
According to the prime minister, the conclusion of a new intergovernmental convention on the avoidance of double taxation can contribute to attracting investments.
“The Prime Minister stressed the importance of effective implementation of joint projects, in particular, the reconstruction of the Bortnychi wastewater treatment plant, which was also noted by the Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda,” the press service said.
