Despite the negative expectations, Ukraine retained its leadership in the global sunflower oil market in 2023-2024 marketing year (MY), accounting for 42% of the global production, while Russia accounted for 29%, UkrAgroConsult, a Ukrainian information and analytical agency, reports.
The analysts referred to the forecast of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to which in 2023-2024 MY the forecast for Ukraine’s gross sunflower production due to higher yields was increased by 27% to 15.5 mln tonnes compared to 2022-2023 MY, and for Russia – by 5% to 17.1 mln tonnes.
The high exports of sunflower oil were achieved due to the increase in harvest. Stable operation of the sea corridor is becoming an important point for Ukraine in realization of the export potential: the country increased exports by 9% compared to 2022-2023 MY, Russia – by 10%, experts noted.
They noted that since the beginning of the war, the markets for sunflower oil have been redistributed. For Ukraine, the European Union has become the key sales destination. In addition, Turkey has reoriented its purchases from Russia to Ukraine, while India and China continued to increase Russian imports.
According to analysts’ forecast, 2024-2025 MY will be a bad harvest year for sunflower. According to the current USDA forecast for September 2024, the global sunflower production is estimated to be the lowest in the last four seasons due to unfavorable weather conditions in the key producing countries – 50.6 mln tonnes, which is 10% less than the previous season. At the same time, Ukraine is expected to reduce the production of this crop by 19% to 12.5 mln tonnes compared to 2023-2024 MY, and Russia – by 6% to 16.0 mln tonnes.
“Ukraine will retain the leadership, but the share in the global production will decrease to 41% vs. 42% in 2023/24 MY in favor of Russia – 33% vs. 29%. The forecast for Russia seems quite optimistic,” UkrAgroConsult stated.
The Norwegian government plans to allocate NOK 250 million for Norfund’s investments in Ukraine as part of the Nansen Support Program, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko has said.
“These funds will help reduce risks for companies investing in Ukraine, including Norwegian ones. Private capital is the key to modernization. I am grateful to our partners for this decision,” she wrote on social network X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.
According to Svyrydenko, this decision also supports the efforts of the Ministry of Economy to implement a joint strategy to attract public and private investment of up to EUR40 billion in cooperation with international financial organizations and development agencies.
According to the Ministry’s website, the government also plans to continue this initiative in the coming years.
As the ministry clarified, Norfund provides equity investments, which involve higher risks than loans and guarantees offered by development agencies and multilateral banks. As an investment fund, Norfund also works to create jobs and support the green transition by investing in companies that promote sustainable development.
According to Norway’s Minister for International Development, Anne Beate Christiansen Twinereim, Norfund has experience in high-risk markets, so it will be an important tool for attracting private sector investment in recovery projects. In particular, it will also help to reduce the gap between Ukraine’s urgent recovery needs and the amount of available funding.
The Nansen Support Program for Ukraine is a Norwegian civilian and military support program worth NOK 75 billion for the period 2023-2027. The distribution between civilian and military support is determined annually according to Ukraine’s needs.
In 2023, about NOK 19.9 billion was distributed from the Nansen Support Program: 8.9 billion for civilian and humanitarian support, and 11 billion for military support.
87 children from the families of Ukrainian defenders went on a tourist trip to Split, Republic of Croatia.
The trip was organized at the invitation of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Croatia, namely Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Croatia Vasyl Kyrylych, with the assistance of the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Croatia Ivica Piric and the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
In gratitude for the trip, the children of Kyiv region presented Ivica Piric with a traditional Ukrainian motanka doll, which symbolizes prosperity and will become a talisman for his family.
“Since 2015, more than 3,500 children whose parents are defending Ukraine at the front have had a vacation in Croatia. The project has been funded by Croatia since its inception and has the support of the Ukrainian Embassy and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. I, like many people in the Croatian government, am a child of war. We understand how important it is for children to undergo rehabilitation,” said Ivica Pirić, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Croatia.
For 10 days, the children will have the opportunity to enjoy active recreation in the seaside city of Split, excursions, and communication with their Croatian peers. Five meals a day will be organized for the participants of the trip.
“Our defenders are defending us at the frontline, and we strive to create favorable conditions and give more positive moments for their families. When Mr. Ambassador of Ukraine to Croatia Vasyl Kyrylych offered to send the children of our military personnel on a tourist trip, we gladly accepted. The Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Croatia Ivica Piric has been organizing vacations for kids for several years now, and I am sure that the program will be extremely rich and interesting. We sincerely appreciate the support of our Croatian friends, which is so important to us,” emphasized Lesia Karnaukh, Deputy Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration.
The postal and logistics group Meest is planning to attract a strategic investor to build a stable business in Europe, Meest China shareholder Vyacheslav Lysenko told Interfax-Ukraine in a blitz interview.
“We are preparing the company to go public, and we have attracted powerful investments for its development – a powerful foreign investor who appreciates our achievements and experience, is interested in the stable business that our company will build in Europe,” Lysenko said.
It is a strategic investor, the company’s shareholder clarified.
He refused to name the size of the stake the group is ready to offer to the “strategist.”
At the same time, a Meest China shareholder confirmed that the potential investor is a logistics company.
The deal could be closed in 2025, Lysenko said.
Meest Group delivers to 90 countries and has been operating in the c2c and b2c postal services market for over 30 years. The company was founded by entrepreneur Rostyslav Kysel, who remains its beneficiary and is responsible for the strategic direction of the company. The Group of companies includes Meest China, Meest USA, Meest Europe and Meest Ukraine.
Meest China has been a leader in the delivery of postal parcels from China for over 15 years. It also delivers large cargoes from China with customs clearance. It has its own warehouse of 5 thousand square meters in Guangzhou.
In May 2024, Meest International launched a new logistics center near the city of Dębica in Poland, 170 km from the border. The company plans to expand its network of hubs in Eastern and Central Europe.
The value of residential real estate in the euro area in the second quarter of 2024 increased by 1.3% in annual terms, according to a report by the European Union Statistical Office (Eurostat). Prior to that, prices had been declining for four consecutive quarters.
A negative factor for European housing was high mortgage rates, which increased following the rise in key interest rates in early 2022. However, mortgages in Europe have been falling in price in recent months amid the European Central Bank’s monetary policy easing. The ECB cut key rates in June and September, and investors are expecting another 25 basis point cut in November, the Financial Times reports.
Significant growth in housing prices – about 8% in annual terms – was recorded in the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, and in Croatia, houses went up by 10%. Meanwhile, in Germany, residential real estate increased in price by 1.3% compared to the first quarter, but fell by 2.6% year-on-year.
“House prices in the eurozone have finally started to recover,” said Tomasz Wiladek, senior economist at T Rowe Price. According to him, mortgage affordability has improved not only due to lower rates, but also due to a strong labor market and an increase in household disposable income amid falling energy prices.
Average mortgage rates in the euro area in August amounted to 3.7% per annum, while last November they exceeded 4%. In January 2022, it was possible to take out a mortgage loan at 1.3% in Europe.
Components of state budget expenditures in 2021-2024, UAH bln
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