Ukrainian seaports in January-July 2019 handled 85.499 million tonnes of cargo, which is 15.8% more than a year ago. The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority said on its website that in January-July the volume of transshipment of bread cargos totaled 28.313 million tonnes, which is 34.8% more than a year ago.
Transshipment of ore increased 29.5%, to 20.153 million tonnes, and oil – 12.3%, to 3.586 million tonnes.
According to authority, the total volume of transshipment of imported chemical and mineral fertilizers for the period amounted to 670,190 tonnes, which is 14.5% higher than the same indicator last year.
Over the period, the volume of exports increased 22.3% to 65.547 million tonnes, while imports 4.4%, to 13.247 million tonnes, while transit decreased 11.2%, to 5.687 million tonnes.
Container handling in January-July 2019 increased 20%, to 545,800 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit).
As reported, in 2018, sea ports of Ukraine handled more than 135 million tonnes of cargo, which is 2.4 million tonnes more than in 2017.
Metinvest, the vertically integrated steel and mining group of companies, has signed its first smart contract on we.trade blockchain trade finance platform supported by UniCredit.
According to a press release provided by Metinvest Group, this blockchain transaction demonstrates the importance of digitalization in the steel industry.
“Importantly, this is the first blockchain transaction provided by UniCredit to Metinvest Group and is a new digital instrument for us. Blockchain technology allows for the creation and management of a large distributed transaction management database that can be shared across multiple nodes of a network. Such transactions demonstrate the Group’s willingness to work in a trusted environment with secure technology, improved risk mitigation and enhanced visibility,” a press service quotes Head of Corporate Finance at the European Re-rolling Business Unit of Metinvest Group, Jamilya Baimukhambetova, as saying.
According to the press release, the underlying transaction is the purchase of equipment for one of Metinvest’s production re-rollers from a European supplier. One of the pilot project’s objectives is to try the new platform from the client side, so that the Group can evaluate its potential as a new type of payment terms that it can offer to some of its major customers.
Exploring the potential of blockchain trade finance is one way that Metinvest Group is implementing its digital innovation strategy, the Group said in its press release.
The we.trade platform works in partnership with major European banks (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) and is based on distributed ledger technology, the major underlying elements of which include blockchain and smart contracts. When a smart contract is created on the we.trade platform, the payment will be automatically triggered according to the terms agreed by the counterparties once the buyer has confirmed the delivery of the goods, making the transaction considerably faster and more transparent.
According to the press release, we.trade is a truly successful inter-bank collaboration that can help to redefine business relationships among companies, removing obstacles that typically make international transactions costly and complex while delivering benefits for corporates.
Metinvest Group is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies that manages every link of the value chain, from mining and processing iron ore and coal to making and selling semi-finished and finished steel products. It comprises steel and mining production facilities located in Ukraine, Europe and the US, as well as a sales network covering all key global markets. Metinvests business is divided for financial reporting purposes into two segments: metallurgical and mining. The Group ended the first quarter with revenues of $2.9 billion and an EBITDA margin was 15%.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Changes in ukrainian population by regions as of june 1, 2019
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of august 13
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
National bank of ukraine’s official rates as of 13/08/19
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
The Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) in its August forecast predicts growth in grain and oilseeds production in the country in the 2019/20 agricultural year to 95.2 million tonnes (the previous forecast had 94.7 million tonnes), and exports – to 58.2 million tonnes (56.9 million tonnes).
According to the information on the association’s website, in the context of crops, changes relate to: wheat production is projected at 27.7 million tonnes (against 28.9 million tonnes in the previous forecast), exports – 21 million tonnes (20 million tonnes); barley production – 8.6 million tonnes (8.4 million tonnes), exports – 4.7 million tonnes (4.9 million tonnes); corn production – 34.5 million tonnes (32.2 million tonnes), export – 27 million tonnes (26 million tonnes).
As reported, the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine predicts an increase in the grain harvest in 2019 under favorable conditions up to 70.8 million tonnes compared with 70.1 million tonnes in 2018.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts a grain harvest in Ukraine this year at 72.6 million tonnes, exports – 51.4 million tonnes.
