KYIV. Jan 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine has permitted imports of beef and pork from Canada without additional certification as part of preparations for the introduction of the free trade area between the two countries.
“Ukraine has approved beef and pork exports from any Canadian federally registered establishment that meets certification requirements,” the Ministry Agriculture an Agri-Food of Canada reported.
The ministry said that following a successful inspection last September by Ukrainian authorities, 15 additional Canadian beef and pork establishments are now eligible to export, bringing the current total to 27.
The ministry said that industry estimates access to the Ukrainian market for Canadian beef and pork to be worth up to $50 million annually.
Canada is committed to strengthening commercial ties with Ukraine and securing improved market access for Canadian exporters.
Canada and Ukraine are currently undertaking the legal review of the negotiated text of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA), and once signed, the parties can undertake their respective domestic implementation processes.
“Once fully implemented, the agreement will result in the elimination of all non-agricultural tariffs and the vast majority of Ukraine’s agricultural tariffs, including on Canadian beef, certain pork, pulses, grains, fish and seafood, canola oil, processed foods, and animal feed,” the ministry said.
Canada exported $35.7 million worth of agriculture and agri-food, and seafood products to Ukraine in 2014.
Total bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Ukraine averaged $293.3 million from 2012 to 2014, and is expected to expand by 19% as a result of the implementation of the CUFTA.
KYIV. Jan 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade plans in 2016 to hold talks with the largest sovereign investment funds and private equity funds to attract investment in the country, the press service of the ministry has said, with reference to minister Aivaras Abromavicius.
“My task for 2016 is to inform the largest and most influential investment funds about opportunities in Ukraine. Unfortunately, they know little about us, and the information they get at best is incomplete or entirely false. If we want to attract serious investment, it is necessary to significantly increase the level of international communications,” the minister said.
According to Abromavicius, during a trip to the United Arab Emirates he held talks with representatives of the three largest funds in the country, namely Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Council and Mubadala.
“These funds manage investment worth more than $1 trillion and invest in a variety of assets around the world – they know how to work in many regions with different risks,” the official said.
KYIV. Jan 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A first noncommercial IT project incubator entitled “1991 Open Data Incubator” was launched in Ukraine with support of the Ukrainian government, the information and communications department of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has reported.
The government said that the incubator will work with projects based on open public data.
“The project is intended to digitize agribusiness, energy, infrastructure projects, public services for citizens and create internal analytical systems in the state, establishing cooperation of IT designers, nongovernmental organizations and analytical centers with authorities,” the department said.
First participants of the incubator will be winners of the hackathon tenders scheduled for February 6. Projects that want to create a startup using open databases for agriculture, energy and infrastructure, projects on designing of electronic public services on the basis of state registers, analytical systems for ministries, regional administration and city halls can take part in the tender. Bids can be submitted from Smart City projects for Ukrainian cities.
SocialBoost NGO with support of Western NIS Fund (the U.S.) will manage the incubator.
KYIV. Jan 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine will be granted EUR 30 million of aid from the European Union due to the prolongation of the four cross-border cooperation programs, which were recently signed by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine with the European Commission.
As the ministry said on its Facebook page, this aid will be used for further development and modernization of international road checkpoints Krasnoilsk and Dyakivtsi on the Ukrainian-Romanian border; Rava-Ruska, Ustyluh-Zosin, Krakovets, Schehyni and Yahodyn on the Ukrainian-Polish border; Uzhgorod-Vyshne-Nimetske on the Ukrainian-Slovak border; and also Luzhanka-Berehshuran on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border.
Besides, a waterway checkpoint for canoers Vylok will be built on the border with Hungary.
The ministry said that the portion of the grant was meant for the development of modern IT-infrastructure in border guards and customs departments, to decrease the risk of flooding in cross-border zones, to improve the situation with pollution that had resulted from chemical waste deposits and discharge of waste water in the Lower Danube region, to conduct expert evaluation in order to integrate Ukrainian and Moldovan electrical systems into energy network ENTSO-E.
“Thanks to the signed agreements the EU has prolonged the following Joint Operational Programs of the Cross-Border Cooperation until December 31, 2016: ‘Romania-Ukraine-Moldova, 2007-2013’, ‘Poland-Belarus-Ukraine, 2007-2013’, ‘Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine, 2007-2013’, ‘Black Sea Basin, 2007-2013’,” the ministry added.
KYIV. Jan 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – British Ferrexpo Plc, which controls Poltava and Yerystove mining and processing plants (Poltava GOK, YeGOK) in Ukraine, in 2015 increased production of commodity pellets by 5.8% compared to 2014, to 11.662 million tonnes.
According to the company, production of pellets using own ore increased by 5.5%, to 11.258 million tonnes, ore from third parties by 14.9%, to 403,150 tonnes.
Ferrexpo said that production of higher-quality pellets with an iron content of 65% (65% Fe) in 2015 grew by 78.6%, to 10.366 million tonnes, or 87% of total production, in particular using own ore by 79.8%, to 9.969 million tonnes, ore from third parties by 53.5%, to 397,190 tonnes. This is the company’s record annual rate of premium pellets production.
Production of pellets with a 62% iron content in 2015 amounted to 1.295 million tonnes (down by 24.8%).
According to the report, in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the previous quarter pellets output increased by 4.3%, to 2.984 million tonnes, in particular using own ore by 5.5%, to 2.954 million tonnes. During this period, output of pellets containing 65% Fe rose by 14%, to 2.827 million tonnes, in particular from own ore by 15.6%, to 2.797 million tonnes.
The company notes that the figures for the fourth quarter are record high for the production of high quality pellets containing 65% Fe, while in the third quarter of 2015 the company produced 5.8 million tonnes of these products.
KYIV. Jan 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – State-run Ukroboronprom Concern is mulling participation in a program for the modernization of PT-91 Twardy main battle tanks (MBT) used by the Armed Forces of Poland.
Prospects for Ukraine-Poland cooperation in the program for PT-91 MBT modernization were discussed during a recent visit of Ukrainian defense industry specialists to Warsaw for talks with Polski Holding Obronny sp. z o.o., or Polish Defense Holding, Ukroboronprom’s press service said.
The sides will continue talks in Ukraine in the middle of January, and now Polish specialists are to visit Lviv armored fighting vehicle plant to familiarize themselves with the production of components of the Ukrainian-made T-72 tank (a Soviet-designed T-72M1 was the prototype of the PT-91 main battle tank), the press service reported with reference to Director of Ukroboronprom’s Kharkov machine-building plant “FED” Oleksandr Paschenko, one of the Ukrainian delegates who visited Poland.
During talks in Warsaw, the Ukrainian side confirmed its readiness to cooperate with Poland’s defense industry in retrofitting the Mikoyan MiG-29 twin-engine fighter jet (NATO reporting name Fulcrum).
FED produces and repairs integral hydraulic servo actuators and hydraulic units, and fuel metering equipment for the aviation industry. Its equipment is installed almost in all types of civil and military aircraft in Ukraine and Russia. The company claims its equipment used in more than 60 countries.
