President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on January 23-24 will make a working visit to Switzerland to participate in the annual World Economic Forum, his press service said. “The head of state will take part in the session on the Strategic Outlook for Central and Eastern Europe and hold a series of bilateral meetings with leaders of international organizations, world leaders, and representatives of leading business circles of the world,” the message says. The president of Ukraine will also chair the second meeting of the National Investment Council, which will be held in Davos.
PrivatBank (Kyiv) in 2018 saw UAH 11.7 billion of net profit, Board Chairman Petr Krumphanzl has said.
“2018 was not easy, but we were successful. I think that this figure [profit] is a contribution for the state, because it helps the development of the country, it helps the stability of the financial system, and it helps us to implement the strategy [of the bank’s development] approved by the Ministry of Finance. This is the best result since the economic crisis and the outbreak of war, and I am pleased that today I can name this figure – UAH 11.7 billion,” he said at a briefing in Dnipro on Tuesday.
Ukraine in 2018 exported $229 million worth of fruits and berries, which is 17% more than a year earlier.
According to the Ukrsadprom association, the main products in this group were walnuts, which were delivered for $117 million, frozen fruits and berries for $78 million, apples and pears worth $15 million. Their total share in exports of horticultural products was 92%.
According to Ukrsadprom, in 2018 exports of walnuts rose by 32%, to 41,000 tonnes, frozen fruits by 14%, to 48,000 tonnes, apples and pears by 79%, to 43,000 tonnes.
Apples of Ukrainian production were exported to 60 countries, the leaders are Belarus (40%), Moldova (14%), and Sweden (9%).
The average price of domestic apples in foreign markets exceeded $350 per tonne, peeled walnuts $3,670 per tonne, and frozen berries $1,640 per tonne.
Traditionally, the main markets for Ukrainian exporters remained the EU countries, which buy about two-thirds of Ukrainian fruits and berries. The largest number of Ukrainian products was exported to Poland (for $39.8 million), Turkey ($20.4 million), France ($15.7 million), Belarus ($13.8 million), Greece ($12.9 million), the Netherlands ($11.2 million), and Italy ($10.2 million).
It is planned to launch automobile traffic through the Podilsko-Voskresensky bridge in Kyiv in a year or two, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has reported.
“Now you can see the rusty constructions – these are pylons. In summer we will remove them and you’ll see what a beautiful bridge is that,” the mayor said.
He noted that the bridge will be two-level. The upper level is for motor vehicles, while the metro line will be below.
According to Klitschko, for all the years about UAH 5 million of budget funds were spent on the bridge construction. Another UAH 7 million is needed to complete it.