KYIV. Jan 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The area of certified farmland under organic production in Ukraine could increase by 10% in 2017, to 450,000 hectares, according to the Organic Ukraine union of organic goods producers.
“The medium-term plan of the government’s priority actions, which is now at the stage of public discussion, envisages the increase in the area of organic farming land to 450,000 hectares by the end of 2017, i.e. by 10%,” reads a press release of the organization.
According to the Organic Federation of Ukraine, currently 410,550 ha of land in the country are occupied for organic farming. Compared with 2010, this figure increased by 35%.
The EU has 11 million hectares of certified land for organic farming, more than 270,000 farms are engaged in organic production.
Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Olha Trofimtseva during the first international congress Organic Ukraine in Kyiv said in the last 5 years the number of operators in the Ukrainian organic market grew by 90%.
“The organic industry is one of the most dynamic. With 400,000 hectares of land under organic treatment, we could increase this figure by several times,” Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Taras Kutoviy said.
KYIV. Jan 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – PJSC Ukrnafta plans in 2017 to invest UAH 2.6 billion in stabilization of production, the press service of the company has said.
“In order to ensure the long-term stabilization of production and create conditions for its growth, Ukrnafta has to invest about UAH 2.6 billion per year. According to the calculations of the company, the effect of lower oil royalties will be about UAH 1.3 billion. The budget for 2017 includes an investment program in the amount of UAH 2.6 billion,” a statement reads.
Ukrnafta in 2016 reduced oil and gas condensate output by 9.2%, to 1.518 million tonnes, gas production by 13.4%, to 1.301 billion cubic meters. Production of liquefied natural gas decreased by 12.9%, to 134,000 tonnes.
Naftogaz Ukrainy owns a 50% plus one share stake in Ukrnafta, Privat Group holds about 42% of the shares.
KYIV. Jan 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – ISD co-owner Oleh Mkrtchan and MP Maksym Yefimov (the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko faction) are the ultimate beneficiaries of Fuhrlander Windtechnology (Kramatorsk).
This is evidenced by the data posted in the unified state register of legal entities.
Fuhrlander Windtechnology is the only Ukrainian producer of modern wind turbines. It is engaged in construction of wind farms. The company produces turbines of 2 MW, 2.5 MW and 3 MW at the site of Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Tool Plant. During the period from 2010 to the present time Fuhrlander Windtechnology has built [using its own equipment] seven wind farms in Ukraine and one wind farm in Kazakhstan.
The company’s revenues in 2015 amounted to UAH 456.262 million, net loss stood at UAH 504.271 million.
Previously the partner of Fuhrlander Windtechnology was Germany’s FWT Energy, the developer and manufacturer of wind turbines. FWT Energy is experiencing serious financial problems. According to mass media reports, the company on January 21 filed an application for insolvency to the court of Montabaur. According to the publications, the FWT Energy business in 2015 suffered due to the failure of supplies of six sets of equipment for wind turbines to Ukraine and in 2016 the company began work in the markets of Russia and Belarus.
KYIV. Jan 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Azerbaijan’s SOCAR has expanded the chain of gas filling stations in Ukraine to 60 outlets, the company wrote on Facebook.
It announced the opening of its 60th station on Protasiv Yar Street in Kyiv.
Its 50th station opened in Mykolaiv in March 2015.
SOCAR’s chain covers Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Rivne, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytsky, Zhytomyr and Poltava regions.
It also operates one bunkering tanker in Ukraine.
Developed countries have long been living with the idea that people are the most valuable asset with tough competition. This applies to people with great talents and experienced specialists, as well as to engineers, managers and skilled and even unskilled workers if the latter are proactive and hardworking. The world has become open, providing better access; its global rules guarantee the free exchange of goods, services, finance and the labor force. Yet, the government must take a clear stance, not only by demonstrating its concern over a brain drain but also developing programs to encourage, motivate workers, let them develop their own potential by all available means, including through self-employment and small businesses, guaranteeing stability and confidence in the future. This opinion was voiced by the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE).
“The issue of preserving the workforce is a matter of national economic security. Poland nowadays employs one million Ukrainian specialists, and it is ready to offer jobs to another million people in 2017. Hungary has given the green light for the employment of 350,000 Ukrainians, and even Belarus invites our workers. According to a December survey by Research & Branding Group, about a third of employable Ukrainians have already thought or think about moving to another country for permanent residence. The emigration of businesses when large companies, mainly innovative ones, change their location for neighboring countries is becoming a trend. It means that today employers are willing to pay high salaries as in the EU rather than putting up with economic instability here,” ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh has said.
The ULIE and the Anti-Crisis Council of NGOs sharply criticize corruption in the regulatory sector, problems with protection of rights and interests of entrepreneurs, investors in courts and law enforcement agencies.
The ULIE and the Anti-Crisis Council of NGOs insist that a comprehensive program should be developed to support self-employment and SMBs. Threats, groundless raids, fines, closures must be eliminated from regulatory practice vis-à-vis businesses. The Central Bank’s refinancing rate should be gradually reduced, while private banks should be given guarantees encouraging them to lend money to the real sector. The tax burden should be minimal. These issues will be on the agenda of the ULIE’s debates scheduled for the beginning of February.
Domestic manufacturers are ready to go into partnership with the government to implement large-scale state programs for the manufacture of farm and road construction equipment, locomotives and military hardware, which were announced by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. He promised strong support for machine engineering to maintain the localization of production, save revenue in foreign currency spent on the purchase of equipment, which can be produced domestically, and provide Ukrainians with jobs. Such plans are backed by the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE), the Anti-Crisis League of NGOs.
The government announced it would allocate funds to buy equipment for rescue and firefighting services, and agricultural equipment. The Cabinet also stressed the need for the support of manufacturers of railway cars and locomotives for the Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia). It also announced plans to form a pool of orders for domestic enterprises of the machine building industry.
“The idea that the industry in general and its advanced sectors, namely engineering, should become the core of Ukraine’s economic development was formulated by the business community in the anti-crisis program of joint actions by the government and businesses. Every industrial producer should have equal, government-guaranteed conditions for the development and modernization,” ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh has said.
In his words, on the one hand, the government claims that the support of the industry is a priority; on the other hand, the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities from February 1 is to raise power rates for industrial consumers by 1-3%, while NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine is going to increase prices of natural gas by 22%. This is a significant deterioration in economic conditions for many manufacturers, including machine builders.
“To change the model of Ukraine’s economic development and the transition from raw materials to a model based on investment and innovation is a comprehensive and responsible task. It requires a thorough analysis of current problems the industry is facing, while populism and incompetence must be rooted out. It also requires that a high-quality, system-oriented program be developed and implemented on the basis of international standards and trends to rebuild and develop Ukraine’s industrial sector. The ULIE and the Anti-Crisis Council of NGOs are ready to directly participate in the process,” Anatoliy Kinakh has said.
