Pokrovsky Mining and Processing Plant (Pokrovsky GOK, Dnipropetrovsk region) plans to increase manganese concentrate production 3.44-fold in 2026 compared with the previous year, to 220,000 tonnes.
In 2025, the enterprise produced 63,900 tonnes of manganese concentrate worth UAH 342.138 million and sold 25,400 tonnes of products for UAH 216.309 million.
The plans for a sharp increase in output coincide with a significant recovery in Ukrainian exports of manganese raw materials. In January–July 2026, Ukraine exported 24,647 tonnes of manganese ores, more than eight times the figure for the same period of 2025 and already exceeding the volume of supplies for the whole of last year.
Foreign currency revenue from exports reached $4.227 million over the seven months, compared with $491,000 a year earlier. Slovakia and Georgia became the main markets.
The Pokrovsky and Marganets mining and processing plants, which are part of the Privat Group, stopped mining and processing raw manganese ore in late October and early November 2023 amid military and energy risks for the industry.
In 2024, both enterprises produced virtually no marketable products. For comparison, in 2023, Pokrovsky GOK produced 160,310 tonnes of manganese concentrate, while Marganets GOK was already idle at that time.
Simultaneously with the shutdown of the mining and processing plants, the main consumers of manganese raw materials—the Nikopol and Zaporizhia ferroalloy plants—also suspended production. In the summer of 2024, the ferroalloy enterprises began resuming output.
In 2026, Ukraine is also once again increasing imports of manganese ore. Over the seven months, approximately 10,900 tonnes were imported, almost entirely from Ghana, whereas no supplies were recorded during the same period a year earlier.
Thus, the current dynamics indicate a gradual recovery of the entire manganese industry chain—from mining and concentrate production to foreign trade and the consumption of raw materials by ferroalloy enterprises.
Pokrovsky GOK and Marganets GOK are Ukraine’s main enterprises engaged in the mining and processing of manganese ore. Manganese concentrate is used primarily to produce ferroalloys required by the metallurgical industry.
In January–July 2026, Ukrainian steelmakers saw their foreign exchange revenue from ferrous metal exports decline by 7.6% compared to the same period last year—to $1.678 billion from $1.816 billion.
This is according to data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
The share of ferrous metals in Ukraine’s total merchandise export revenue over the first seven months fell to 6.95% from 7.79% in January–July 2025, or by 0.84 percentage points.
Thus, metallurgical products continue to account for a significant portion of Ukraine’s merchandise exports, but their share is shrinking amid a decline in the sector’s foreign exchange earnings.
At the same time, imports of ferrous metals into Ukraine continued to grow. In January–July, they increased by 7.2% to $1.023 billion.
Despite the contrasting trends in exports and imports, Ukraine maintained a positive trade balance in ferrous metals of approximately $655 million over the seven-month period.
The situation with fabricated metal products deteriorated separately. Exports of these products fell by 10.8% to $507.5 million, while imports rose by 6% to $697.6 million. As a result, the foreign trade deficit in fabricated metal products stood at about $190 million.
By comparison, at the end of 2025, export revenue from ferrous metals rose by 7.85% to $3.339 billion, and their share of total merchandise exports reached 8.25%. In 2024, exports of ferrous metals increased by another 16.9%—to $3.096 billion.
Thus, after two years of growth in the metallurgical sector’s export revenues, the trend reversed in 2026: revenues are declining, while imports of ferrous metals and metal products continue to rise.
Verifying a foreign investor helps Ukrainian businesses establish the origin of capital, the ownership structure and the partner’s ability to fulfil its obligations.
When raising foreign financing, the main attention is usually paid to verifying the Ukrainian company. A potential investor analyses financial statements, corporate documents, taxes, litigation, assets and the business model.
However, Ukrainian owners should also verify the party offering the capital. The name of a well-known fund in a presentation or claimed access to significant financial resources does not yet confirm that the negotiations are being conducted by an authorised person or that the money actually belongs to the declared investor.
Before signing an agreement, it is worth verifying the legal entity, the date of its establishment, its executives, owners, corporate group, previous investments and possible sanctions or reputational risks.
Particular caution is required if the investor demands payment of an upfront fee, uses unofficial email addresses, avoids providing corporate documents or proposes making payments through a company that is not a party to the agreement.
D&B third-party verification solutions make it possible to identify a company, analyse its corporate relationships, establish its owners and conduct checks against sanctions lists and other risk sources. D&B Investigate is also used to visualise business relationships and support enhanced due diligence.
“When raising capital, it is not only the Ukrainian company that undergoes verification. Business owners also need to understand who is offering the financing, where this capital comes from and whether the potential investor is capable of fulfilling its obligations,” emphasised Maksym Urakin, Director of Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine, Head of the D&B-Interfax-Ukraine Business Unit and PhD in Economics.
According to him, verification is particularly important for small and medium-sized businesses that do not have their own large legal or compliance department and may perceive the very fact of a foreign investor’s interest as confirmation of its reliability.
The verification result does not replace legal and financial due diligence, but it helps determine whether it is worth proceeding to the costly stage of negotiations, disclosing confidential data and providing access to internal documentation.
Before signing an agreement, it is also necessary to make sure that the representative is authorised to act on behalf of the investor and that the bank account used for the transaction belongs to a party to the agreement or to a duly authorised entity.
Dun & Bradstreet is an international business data and analytics company founded in 1841. Its solutions are used for company verification, corporate ownership analysis, compliance, credit risk assessment and business decision support.
In Ukraine, Dun & Bradstreet is represented by the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency. The D&B-Interfax-Ukraine unit helps Ukrainian enterprises verify potential investors, partners, buyers and suppliers. The agency has operated in the political and economic information market since 1992.
Enquiries can be submitted via D&B’s specialised resource — dnb.ua, by email at Urakin@interfax.kyiv.ua or by telephone at +38 (044) 270-65-74.
In July 2026, prices for clothing and footwear in Ukraine fell by 4.8% compared to June and by 5.6% compared to July of last year, according to data from the State Statistics Service. Clothing prices fell by 5.8% over the month and by 5.4% year-over-year. Footwear prices fell by 3.5% and 6.1%, respectively.
Compared to December 2025, the entire “clothing and footwear” category fell in price by 4.5%, including clothing by 6.5% and footwear by 2%.
In January–July 2026, prices for clothing and footwear were, on average, 5.5% lower than during the same period in 2025. At the same time, the overall consumer price index rose by 7.8% over these two periods.
Clothing and footwear thus remain one of the largest categories in the consumer basket where the State Statistics Service has recorded price declines amid overall inflation.
CLOTHING, footwear, INFLATION, PRICE, State Statistics Service
Ukraine continues to have the lowest minimum wage among European countries with a statutory minimum wage included in Eurostat statistics.
As of 1 July 2026, Ukraine’s minimum wage amounts to EUR 169 gross per month when converted into euros, according to Eurostat data.
Moldova ranks second from the bottom with a minimum wage of EUR 313, while in all other countries covered by the survey, the figure exceeds EUR 500.
For comparison, the minimum wage is approximately EUR 517 in Albania, EUR 620 in Bulgaria, EUR 621 in Türkiye, EUR 624 in North Macedonia, EUR 670 in Montenegro and EUR 743 in Serbia.
At the opposite end of the European ranking is Luxembourg, with a minimum wage of EUR 2,771 per month. It is followed by Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, where the minimum wage exceeds EUR 1,800 in all cases.
When making comparisons, it should be taken into account that Eurostat presents the figures in euros and as gross monthly equivalents. For countries that do not use the euro, the amounts are converted using the exchange rate at the end of the previous month. Therefore, changes in the national currency’s exchange rate may also affect a country’s position in the ranking.
In total, Eurostat covers 22 EU member states with a national minimum wage and seven candidate and potential candidate countries where such a wage is established at the national level. At the same time, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden do not have a single statutory national minimum wage.
Below is the full ranking of minimum wages in Europe as of 1 July 2026, from highest to lowest, gross per month converted into euros according to Eurostat’s methodology.
Luxembourg — €2,771
Ireland — €2,391
Germany — €2,343
Netherlands — €2,338
Belgium — €2,234
France — €1,867
Slovenia — €1,482
Spain — €1,425
Lithuania — €1,153
Poland — €1,119
Cyprus — €1,088
Greece — €1,073
Portugal — €1,073
Croatia — €1,050
Malta — €994
Estonia — €946
Czechia — €923
Slovakia — €915
Hungary — €906
Romania — €825
Latvia — €780
Serbia — €743
Montenegro — €670
North Macedonia — €624
Türkiye — €621
Bulgaria — €620
Albania — €517
Moldova — €313
Ukraine — €169
The international law firm Baker McKenzie has appointed two co-heads of its Kyiv office.
As the law firm announced in a press release, Sergey Cherny and Gennady Voitsitsky have been elected co-heads of the Kyiv office. Voitsitsky succeeds Vyacheslav Yakimchuk, who had served as co-managing partner since 2023 and will continue to lead the corporate and M&A practice at Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office.
Sergey Cherny has been a co-managing partner of Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office since 2010 and heads the banking and finance practice, as well as the capital markets practice. He advises clients on cross-border lending, structured finance, securitization, debt capital markets, and debt restructuring. He is ranked among Ukraine’s leading lawyers by authoritative international and Ukrainian legal rankings, including Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500 EMEA, and IFLR1000.
Gennadiy Voitsitsky has led the tax law practice at Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office since 2007. He advises multinational corporations, investors, and private clients on international tax planning and structuring, inbound and outbound investments, tax disputes and litigation, as well as private wealth management. He is recognized as one of the leading experts in tax law by Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, and ITR World Tax.
Baker McKenzie has been operating in Ukraine for 34 years. Despite the challenges posed by the war, the Kyiv office continues to advise Ukrainian and international clients on a wide range of legal and business matters, thereby promoting investment, recovery, and business development in Ukraine.
