The cancellation by the UK of all duties and quotas on products from Ukraine to support it in the face of a military invasion by the Russian Federation may allow Ukrainian farmers to increase their presence in the UK markets of poultry meat, walnuts, honey, cranberries, blueberries and peas.
The list of high-margin agricultural products that Ukraine could supply to the UK at a time when the export of its traditional agricultural raw materials is blocked by the aggressor country of the Russian Federation was published on the website of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) on Wednesday evening.
According to the results of 2021, agricultural products worth $553 million were exported from Ukraine to the UK, including sunflower oil (31% of export earnings), rapeseed (28%) and corn (24%). However, the supply of traditional agricultural crops in 2022 is difficult due to the naval blockade of Ukraine by Russian warships, as a result of which the country can potentially increase the export of a number of other agricultural products by road.
Ukrainian farmers, in particular, can focus their export efforts on the supply of poultry meat to the UK. The volume of its export in 2021 was 2,600 tonnes. The share of Ukraine of UK imports is 1%. Main competitors: the Netherlands, Poland, and Belgium.
The export of walnuts without shells is also promising. The volume of its export in 2021 was 0700 tonnes. The share of Ukraine of UK imports is 6%. Main competitors: the United States, Germany, and China.
According to the UCAB, Ukrainian farmers can increase honey exports to the UK (800 tonnes were delivered in 2021). The share of Ukraine of UK imports is 1%. Main competitors: China, Poland, and Mexico.
The export of cranberries and blueberries is also promising (supplies in 2021 – 200 tonnes). The share of Ukraine of UK imports is 0.3%. Main competitors: Spain, Peru, and Chile.
Ukraine exported 4,900 tonnes of peas to the UK in 2021, which amounted to 12% of the UK market in 2021. At the same time, Russia is Ukraine’s main competitor in this market, which, taking into account the economic sanctions imposed against it, adds an advantage to Ukrainian suppliers.
“Now the railways and seaports of neighboring countries are heavily loaded due to the export of grain crops, the volumes of which we have the largest. Therefore, to increase export earnings, we should focus on the export of goods that have a higher price with less weight and thus export by road,” UCAB cites a promising export model from its analyst Svitlana Lytvyn.
BERRIES, HONEY, PEAS, POULTRY, UK, UKRAINIAN FARMERS, WALNUTS
Bulgaria will be pleased to participate in the restoration of Ukraine, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has said.
“As for your proposal to Bulgaria to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine, we will be more than happy to do so. We have many cities with many Bulgarian-speaking Ukrainians, and Bulgaria will be pleased to take a constructive part,” Petkov said at a press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday.
The head of government said Bulgaria can also help Ukraine with the help of the trans-Balkan gas pipeline.
“When we talk about energy security, Bulgaria can help Ukraine through the use of the trans-Balkan gas pipeline, through which we can supply gas from LNG terminals in Greece and Turkey to Ukraine, which will give both our countries a lower price and the possibility of deliveries,” he said.
In addition, Petkov said Bulgaria supports Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
“It is very important for Bulgaria that Ukraine sees a clear path to the EU. It is time for us to say that Ukraine belongs, is part of the European family, and we must give a clear sign and a clear path as soon as possible. You have a strong voice for Bulgaria when we meet with many European colleagues,” he said.
On Thursday evening, the US House of Representatives adopted a law on lend-lease and the protection of democracy in Ukraine, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said.
“Lend-lease for Ukraine has finally been opened. The law has been voted on. Thanks to our allies,” Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday evening.
The text of the document refers to granting the US President expanded powers to transfer or lease defense assets to Ukraine to “protect the civilian population from Russian military invasion” and for other purposes.
“After the adoption of the act, the chairman of the White House is obliged within 60 days to establish accelerated procedures for the delivery of products. The Lend-Lease Act allows us to significantly speed up the supply of weapons, transport, food and aid from the United States. And all this will allow us to drive the Russian army out of our territories” , – wrote the head of the OP.
He noted that Lend-Lease “means the US confidence in Ukraine’s victory over Russia.”
“This will be an important victory for our indestructible people, who were able to unite the civilized world around them in the fight against the Russian evil,” Yermak summed up.
CONGRESS, LAW, LEND-LEASE, US
Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to 24:00 on April 27 amounted to 6,009 civilians (in the report the day before – 5,939), including 2,829 dead (2,787), reports the Office of the High Commissioner United Nations Human Rights Organization (OHCHR) on Thursday.
“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are much higher as information is delayed from some areas of heavy fighting and many reports are still awaiting confirmation,” the UN data document notes.
According to him, this applies, for example, to Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izyum (Kharkiv region) and Popasna (Luhansk region), where there are reports of numerous civilian casualties. They are subject to further verification and are not included in the above statistics.
“The majority of civilian deaths or injuries were caused by the use of explosive devices with a wide area of effect, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as rocket and air strikes,” the report says.
According to confirmed UN data, 932 men, 626 women, 75 boys and 62 girls died, while the sex of 68 children and 1066 adults has not yet been determined.
Among the 3,180 wounded were 73 boys and 66 girls, as well as 164 children whose gender has not yet been determined.
Compared to Friday’s report, according to the UN, three children were killed and another was injured.
OHCHR indicates that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on April 28, there were 1,266 (1,229) dead and 1,172 (1,159) injured in government-controlled territory, and 88 (85) dead and 357 (353) injured in territory controlled by self-proclaimed “republics”.
In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporozhye, Kyiv, Sumy, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 1475 (1473) dead and 1651 (1640) wounded .
The daily summary traditionally states that the increase in the figures from the previous summary should not be attributed only to the cases on April 26, since during this period the Office verified a number of cases from previous days.
Since the end of February, Adonis Medical Group has not stopped working, and is currently resuming the work of clinics, Adonis general director Vitaliy Hyrin told Interfax-Ukraine.
He said that during this time the clinic branches in Podil and Sofiyivska Borschahivka, as well as emergency ambulances, worked around the clock.
In addition, from April 8, the maternity hospital of the network resumed work on the left bank.
“On May 9, we plan to open a maternity hospital on the right bank at the Shalimov branch. Currently, all branches are operating, except for the maternity hospital in Buzova, which was significantly damaged by shelling, as well as the branch in Bucha,” he said.
Hyrin noted a significant increase in the number of requests for medical help in recent years.
“In early March, there was a strong decline, but from mid-March and in April, the number of visits to Adonis clinics increased by 2.5 times and continues to grow,” he said.
According to Hyrin, the main specialties for patients are gynecology, pregnancy management, childbirth, prenatal and general ultrasound, sampling, pediatrics and therapy.
He also said that a significant number of Adonis patients are not located in Kyiv and are being consulted online.
Adonis is a network of private medical centers for adults and children founded over 20 years ago. It includes 12 branches in Kyiv and the region, including two own maternity hospitals and a stem cell laboratory.
In the branches of the clinic, doctors treat patients in 66 medical specialties.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on Thursday, for the fourth time since the beginning of the war, bought government war bonds. This time for UAH 10 billion while earlier the purchases were valued at UAH 20 billion, bringing its portfolio of these securities to UAH 70 billion, follows from a report on its website.
According to the report, this is the third buyout since the beginning of April, the total amount this month has reached UAH 50 billion.
As reported, the total volume of issuance of war bonds is up to UAH 400 billion.
At market auctions since March 1, their sales amounted to UAH 38.07 billion, $93.8 million and EUR 176.5 million.
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko previously predicted a state budget deficit of $5-7 billion a month for April-May, compared with $2.7 billion in March.
