KYIV. June 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – In the first quarter of 2017, tourist flows to Kyiv remained positive and its increase compared to the same period in 2016 was 33%, or 70,690 people, head of the tourism department of Kyiv City State Administration Anton Taranenko has said.
“In the first quarter of 2017 in general 283,389 tourists visited (Kyiv) (211,700 in 2016.) In the current year, Kyiv, according to the forecast indicators, expects 1.5 million foreign visitors,” Taranenko wrote on Facebook on Monday.
He said that the leading positions in the rating were taken by such countries as Belarus (an increase by 22,770 people); Israel (by 5,920 people); Turkey (5,350 people); the USA (3,520); Poland (3,130); Azerbaijan (2,110); Latvia and Lithuania (1,200); Germany (1,910 people); Kazakhstan (1,810); China (1,760); France (1,470); the Netherlands (1,040).
KYIV. June 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Syngenta, one of the world’s largest producers of crop protection products and seeds, has opened a research and selection center worth $1 million in Dnipropetrovsk region.
According to the company’s press release, the goal of the center is to study the selection material of maize and sunflower and to obtain new early hybrids with high potential, derived for the climatic conditions of Ukraine.
“The opening of the research and selection center for corn and sunflower has become a logical continuation of our work to bring to the market the best seed material with high potential, zoned accordingly to the needs of this region,” the head of the breeding seeding and seed production department of the CIS countries Syngenta in Ukraine, Artem Bily, has said.
KYIV. June 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Milk Alliance, a group of companies, has supplied a first batch of dairy products to Georgia and Azerbaijan under a one-year contract, the group has reported on its website.
“This was the first delivery of our dairy products to “Ukrainian Food” stores in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Now we are holding talks on the next supply under the one-year contract,” Milk Alliance Commercial Director Viktoria Predborska said.
The group said that Ukrainian Food stores received products under Yagotynske, Yagotynske dlia Dietei and Slavia trademarks.
Milk Alliance said that two Ukrainian Food stores are operating in Georgia and Azerbaijan each. Georgian partners seek to expand its chain to eight stores by the end of this year.
Milk Alliance unites Pyriatyn cheese factory, Bashtanka cheese factory, Horodenka, Trostianets, Novoarkhanhelsk and Zgurivka cheese factories, Zolotonosha butter factory, as well as Varvamaslosyrzavod and Etalonmolprodukt, and Etalon trade house sales companies.
KYIV. June 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Investment by UkrAgroCom (Kirovohrad region) in modernization of the Oleksandria sugar refinery in 2017 would total $1 million.
“Since the acquisition of the refinery 10 years ago we have invested $5 million in its modernization. By the end of this year $1 million will be invested,” Production Director Oleh Pokotylo told Interfax-Ukraine.
He said that the funds will be sent to improve the quality of sugar and energy efficiency.
“We are installing solid fuel boilers burning plant waste instead of expensive gas, which price is unstable. We will use own waste from sugar beets processing,” he said.
The company hopes to save $1.5 million every year on sugar production.
UkrAgroCom is mulling to invest $5 million in the modernization of the refinery.
Commercial Director Pavlo Fesiuk said that in 2016/17 agricultural year (August-September) the Oleksandria sugar refinery produced 30,000 tonnes of sugar. The refinery intends to retain the figure for this season.
In 2016, UkrAgroCom exported 8,000 tonnes of sugar, which is 20 times more than in the previous two or three years. Sugar was mainly supplied to Asia, North Africa and the European Union.
The company sowed sugar beets on 6,400 ha (the same as last year).
Fesiuk said that the company does not plan to expand its land bank and own elevators, but the company is working on boosting cow numbers.
UkrAgroCom is part of the UkrAgroCom and Hermes-Trading group of companies.
KYIV. June 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – One of Ukraine’s largest food delivery service, Eda.ua, which is part of the investment portfolio of Chernovetskyi Investment Group (CIG), has announced the completion of a merger with Foodout, a leading food delivery service in the Baltic states.
One of the largest food delivery company in Eastern Europe, Foodout Group, has been created as a result of the merger, CIG’s press service said.
Eda.ua users can order food in real time from local restaurants and cafes via the single Internet portal or mobile apps in a few clicks. At the moment Eda.ua cooperates with more than 1,500 restaurants in Ukraine.
“The merger will create one of the largest food delivery services in Eastern Europe. In addition to the Ukrainian market, where the Eda.ua service has strong positions, the merged company covers Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Iran. In the near future the service will be launched on the Belarusian market. Thus, Foodout Group will be present in six countries with a combined population of 140 million people,” the press service said.
The deal became possible due to combined efforts of CIG, the main investor of the Eda.ua service, and the Goldfish fund, which is the investor of the Foodout service.
The parties do not disclose the terms of the deal, noting that the merged company is estimated at tens of millions of euros. To support the geographic expansion plan, CIG also invested EUR1 million in the consolidated Foodout Group.
KYIV. June 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Kusto Agro Group will invest EUR 2.5 million in expansion of Agroline-Ukraine cow farm (Zhytomyr region), the group has said on its Facebook page.
“We are planning to expand the cow farm of our Agroline-Ukraine to 1,200 cows. Now the blueprints are being drawn up and soon construction will begin. It is planned to install equipment of leading grobal manufacturer DeLaval in the dairy farm,” reads the report.
The company said that now the capacity of the farm is 600 cows.
According to the unified register of companies and individual businessmen, the ultimate beneficiary of Agroline-Ukraine is businessman Talhat Turumbayev.
The Kusto Agro Group unites Kusto Agro Farming (crop planting), Kusto Agro elevator company, Kusto Agro Trading and Kusto Logistics.
Kusto Agro produces crops with high added value. As of 2015, the group’s land bank was 12,000 ha of leased land in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytsky regions.
Kusto Agro seeks to cultivate at least 100,000 ha of farmland in next five years.
Kusto Agro is part of Kusto Group (Singapore) having business in the oil, energy, agricultural, construction and other areas.
