KYIV. July 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Twenty-one out of the 28 member states of the European Union have already ratified the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement and four countries have launched ratification procedures, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.
“Although it was previously supposed that the whole process would take more than three years, today, a year later, 21 of 28 EU countries have already completed the process of ratification and four countries are currently implementing this process,” Poroshenko said before talks with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz in Kyiv.
The president stressed the importance of the synchronous ratification of this document by the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament a year ago.
“This step has significantly accelerated the procedure of ratification of the Association Agreement with EU states,” Poroshenko said.
In turn, Schulz said that the initiative on the joint ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU was down to Poroshenko.
“It is the only occasion of such large-scale synchronous ratification in history,” he added.
KYIV. July 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Kyiv-based Raiffeisen Bank Aval have decided to allocate $60 million on a parity basis under a farmers lending project for the purchase of plant protection products from the Ukrainian subsidiary of German-based Bayer AG.
The IFC reported that its board of directors approved the project on June 29, 2015 and the IFC’s contribution under the project will amount to $30 million.
The proposed project is similar to a program organized by the IFC, Raiffeisen Bank Aval and Bayer in 2011.
The purpose of the project is to boost the productivity and efficiency of agribusinesses in Ukraine by improving access to finance for the purchase of seeds and crop protection products. The program is expected to engage about 20,000 small and medium-sized farms.
The previous program covered more than 11,300 farms.
KYIV. July 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Austrian financial institutions will be able to assist in the further implementation of Zaporizhia-based Zaporizhstal metallurgical mill’s investment projects, in particular in the construction of a converter shop at the mill.
An Austrian delegation including Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Austria to Ukraine Hermine Poppeller and Defense Attaché Colonel Erich Simbürger visited Zaporizhstal on July 3, 2015, the enterprise said in a press release.
The guests were informed about an environmental project, namely a hydrochloric acid etching line in cold rolling shop No. 1, which was implemented in partnership with Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG. During the visit, Poppeller and Zaporizhstal’s management discussed promising areas of potential cooperation, which include the construction of a converter shop.
Poppeller said praised Zaporizhstal’s modernization program and spoke about the possible support of investment projects by Austrian financial institutions in the future.
“Ukraine can become competitive on the European market thanks to such enterprises as Zaporizhstal. Of course, we will help implement the following investment projects, but it depends on the situation in Ukraine and in Europe,” the ambassador said.
Zaporizhstal General Director Rostislav Shurma said in turn that the mill has already gained successful experience in large-scale joint investment projects with Austrian and other European partners and suppliers.
“To date, the implementation of new projects is constrained by the extremely difficult political and economic situation in the country,” the press release quoted him as saying.
Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine and its products are well known and in demand by consumers in the domestic market and in many countries around the world.
It produces high-quality hot-rolled steel coils, hot-rolled sheets, cold-rolled sheets, cold-rolled carbon and low-alloy steel coils, steel straps, roll-formed sections, and other products.
The plant’s principal clients are producers of welded pipes, automobiles, other transport vehicles, agricultural machinery, and household appliances.
KYIV. July 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Grain exports from Ukraine, according to preliminary data, in the 2014/2015 marketing year (MY, July-June) amounted to 34.805 million tonnes, including 18.837 million tonnes of corn.
The Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food told Interfax-Ukraine that in the last marketing season Ukraine exported 11.234 million tonnes of wheat, 4.46 million tonnes of barley, and 280,000 tonnes of other crops.
As reported, in 2014 Ukraine harvested a record high of nearly 63.8 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops (excluding Crimea), which is 2.4% more than in 2013.
Exports in the 2013/2014 MY amounted to 32.4 million tonnes.
KYIV. July 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – ConverDyn, an American company, is contemplating the potential for setting up a joint uranium hexafluoride production facility in Ukraine.
The likelihood of such cooperation was discussed between the U.S. company’s representatives and the top managers of Nuclear Fuel state concern in Kyiv in late June, the Ukrainian concern said in a press release.
Today ConverDyn is keen on cooperation with Ukrainian companies in providing uranium-conversion services to the Ukrainian energy sector.
“The business meeting resulted in an agreement to continue working on possible areas of cooperation between ConverDyn and the concern on the basis of the needs of the Ukrainian nuclear industry,” the statement reads.
Uranium hexafluoride is a necessary link in the production chain prior to uranium enrichment.
Ukraine’s state company VostGOK (based in Dnipropetrovsk region) increased its 2013 output of natural uranium concentrate by 0.4% (3.4 tonnes) to 925.7 tonnes in 2014.
ConverDyn specializes in providing uranium hexafluoride (conversion) services. ConverDyn is owned 50/50 by General Atomics and Honeywell.
Ukraine set up Nuclear Fuel state concern with the aim of organizing certain elements of the nuclear-fuel cycle, such as production of propellants for nuclear power plants and fuel assembly.
Nuclear Fuel consists of four state companies: Eastern Mining and Processing Complex (VostGOK), Smoly, Dniprovsky Precision Pipe Plant, Ukrainian Industrial Technology Scientific Research and Project Exploration Institute.
KYIV. July 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Commission (EC) is ready to stir up work on Ukraine joining the common transit system, the harmonization of the customs and tax laws of Ukraine under the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, the introduction of the “one face to the customer” approach and the institution of authorized economic operators, as well as Ukraine joining the Pan-Euro-Med accumulation of origin system, the press service of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine has reported, referring to the statement of Director of the Directorate General for Taxation and Customs at the European Commission Heinz Zurek on the negotiations with Head of the State Fiscal Service Roman Nasirov.
“We understand that EU standards in the tax and customs areas are decisive for the successful modernization of the State Fiscal Service, and we’re ready for the quick introduction of them in our work. This first is needed for the development of customs procedures, the proper tax administration, building of modern electronic resources of the European model and fighting corruption,” Nasirov said.
He said that joint border and customs control with the EU should be introduced and electronic services should be built up: excise duty, consignment note, the taxpayer cabinet, and the “one face to the customer” system.
The New Computerized Transit System (NCTS) is designed to exchange electronic data on goods in transit between all customs agencies-participants and foreign economic traders.
