Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has informed the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elzbieta Bienkowska about priorities for the development of the Ukrainian economy. “We are engaged in large-scale restoration of infrastructure, building roads, discussing the possibilities of concession. Our priority is economic growth of 5-7%. We will dynamically move forward,” the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers quoted Groysman as saying at a meeting with the commissioner in Kyiv.
The sides noted that Ukraine and the European Union were intensifying the dialogue in the sphere of industry to speed up economic growth in Ukraine and create opportunities for involving Ukrainian enterprises in the all-European industrial strategy.
“Today’s meeting is of the utmost importance. My government’s goal is to ensure sustainable economic growth. The potential of the industry has broad opportunities. We are working to remove barriers to development and get a new impetus to moving forward in all sectors,” Groysman said.
Bienkowska, in turn, said that Europe appreciated the reform progress in Ukraine.
“We see the reform progress. We see how much effort you are making to make changes. I hope that we will be able to discuss the possibilities of various sectors of the economy, and we are talking about Ukraine becoming part of our overall industrial strategy. We are not just talking about support, but about details and concrete accents of our industrial dialogue,” she said.
According to her, Ukraine has great potential for development, first and foremost, in industry and agriculture.
“This is why we are ready to help fulfill this potential, taking into account, first of all, regulatory decisions. We believe in free trade (with Ukraine), in the free market. We will never run counter to WTO policy and free trade policy,” Bienkowska said.
The sides also discussed cooperation with international financial organizations and macro-financial support for Ukraine from the EU.
“Ukraine is already the best in many respects. Ukraine is really an example for Europe in the context of the restoration of the state. You should be proud of what you have done in the way of reform, and we need to strengthen our ties between enterprises and as part of industrial clusters,” she added.
Swiss International Airlines, part of Lufthansa Group, from March 26 resumed flights from Zurich to Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv) after almost a four-year break. Swiss International Airlines General Manager for Ukraine Rene Koinzack said at a press conference in Kyiv that partnership with Swiss airline will allow Ukrainians to travel to Switzerland four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
As reported, the airlines that are part of Lufthansa Group intend to increase the number of flights to Kyiv in the summer navigation of 2018. Lufthansa offered six additional flights a week from Frankfurt to Kyiv from March 25, 2018, and Swiss airlines planned to return to work on the Ukrainian route to Zurich with four flights a week on March 26, 2018.
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) in 2017 received a net profit of UAH 5.062 billion, while in 2016 it amounted to UAH 2.704 billion. According to the company’s announcement of an annual shareholders’ meeting scheduled for April 26, retained earnings by the end of the year amounted to UAH 32.980 billion.
Over the past year, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih increased current liabilities by 23.1%, to UAH 17.044 billion, but reduced long-term liabilities by 2.1%, to UAH 6.791 billion. At the same time, the plant increased debtor indebtedness by 34.7%, to UAH 22.928 billion.
The assets of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih in 2017 increased by 10%, to UAH 89.063 billion, in particular fixed assets by 1.4%, to UAH 47.134 billion.
The shareholders intend to spend net profit received in 2017 on the development of production, dividends won’t be accrued and paid.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of steel products in Ukraine. It specializes in production of long products, in particular, fittings and wire rod.
Ukraine in February 2018 increased steel production by 11.2% compared to the same period in 2017, to 1.9 million tonnes, ranking 12th in the rating of 64 countries, the world’s major steel producers, compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel). In February, the growth of steel making in half of the top ten countries was recorded.
The top ten countries in terms of steel production in February were China (64.930 million tonnes, an increase of 5.9%), India (8.434 million tonnes, an increase of 3.4%), Japan (8.296 million tonnes, a drop of 0.5%), the United States (6.446 million tonnes, an increase of 0.4%), South Korea (5.415 million tonnes, a decrease of 2.1%), Russia (5.150 million tonnes, a fall of 2.1%), Germany (3.340 million tonnes, a 3.2% decrease), Turkey (2.998 million tonnes, an increase of 8.7%), Brazil (2.714 million tonnes, a 5.5% increase), and Iran (2.120 million tonnes, an increase of 48.6%).
They are followed by Italy (2.093 million tonnes, an increase of 4.5%), Ukraine (1.9 million tonnes, an increase of 11.2%), and Taiwan (1.810 million tonnes, a fall of 2%).
In general, in February 64 countries produced 131.791 million tonnes of steel, which is 3.5% more than in February 2017.
The analysis of weather information and gardeners’ reports on the situation in the gardens make it possible to hope for a record high apple harvest, as well as the yield of many other types of fruits and berries in Ukraine in 2018, the Ukrainian Horticultural Association has said. According to a preliminary forecast of the association, the anomalously cold and snowy March of the current year with a high probability will delay the flowering of the gardens, which will allow reducing the likelihood of losses from spring frosts, while the relatively stable climatic conditions of the winter allowed gardeners to almost completely prevent damage and depletion of trees.
The experts expect the total harvest in 2018 to increase, as a significant number of young gardens will begin to bear fruit.
The union said the EU expects a record high apple harvest after last year’s frosts sharply reduced productivity in the gardens. Accordingly, competition in the European apple market will intensify, which will affect prices.
“It’s worth expecting a sharp decline in prices in the apple market in Ukraine. Especially it will be difficult for producers who grow apples of not very popular varieties and low quality. It is likely that such apples will be sold at the same price as industrial ones. At the same time, quality apples of prospective varieties will be actively exported, so exporting producers can even increase their revenue compared to the 2017/2018 season. Quality apples will be sold in the domestic market at a 30-50% lower price than in the previous season,” the association notes.
