Changes in consolidated budget expenditures in 2021-2023 (%)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
In January 2024, Ukraine exported 7.7 million tons of agricultural products, which is only 0.3% lower than the same indicator of the previous month. At the same time, not all the products managed to cross the border and some of the vehicles are queuing to leave, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB).
According to the UCAB, in January 2024, the structure of exports of Ukrainian agricultural products was dominated by grain crops, which were supplied to foreign markets in the amount of 5.3 million tons, which is 1% less than a month earlier. Corn accounted for 63% of supplies, wheat – 30%, barley – 6%.
Ukraine also exported 765 thsd tonnes of oilseeds, which is 1% less than in December. At the same time, supplies of rapeseed accounted for 52% of oilseed exports, soybeans – 40%, and sunflower seeds – 7%.
Vegetable oils were supplied to foreign markets in the amount of 664.5 thsd tonnes, which is 6% less than a month earlier. Sunflower oil accounted for 92% of exports, soybean oil – 5%, and rapeseed oil – 3%.)
In January 2024, Ukraine increased the export of oilcake by 20% to 591.1 thsd tonnes, of which 92% was sunflower cake and 8% was soybean cake.
In January, exports of other types of agro-industrial products decreased by 2% compared to December, with 391.6 thsd tonnes of them being supplied to foreign markets. UCAB analysts attributed the main trends in January exports to the increase in rapeseed exports compared to other oilseeds.
Usually, we managed to export the entire volume intended for this purpose before the New Year. This year, Ukraine still has a lot of exported products,” the experts explained.
The increase in exports of sunflower cake was explained by analysts by establishing exports to China through the existing sea corridor.
The export dynamics makes it possible to gradually reduce the balances of agricultural products intended for export and provide farmers with financial resources for further activities. It is very important to maintain these volumes, or even increase them. After all, not only the food security of Ukraine, but also of many countries of the world depends on the functioning of the Ukrainian agricultural sector,” UCAB summarized.
Ukrainian developers have concluded the first housing purchase and sale agreements using housing certificates issued as compensation for destroyed housing under the eRestoration program.
Today, housing certificates are used to purchase apartments in completed projects, Anna Laevska, commercial director of Intergal-Bud, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Buyers are mostly focused on affordable housing in the economy and comfort segments. As of now, ready-made apartments in buildings that have already received a certificate of commissioning are available for participation in the program in the capital region. However, we plan to expand the offer with facilities under construction. We are talking about projects in Lviv,” she said.
According to Laevska, the first transaction under the program concerned a two-room apartment with turnkey renovation in the Syretsky Gardens residential complex.
According to the developers interviewed by Interfax-Ukraine, buyers with certificates are offered installment purchases and loans, the possibility of using the certificate as a down payment, and in some cases, individual offers and discounts.
Developer Alliance Novobud has also concluded the first deal under the eRestoration program: a family from Kyiv region purchased a three-bedroom apartment in a finished building in the Madison Gardens residential complex in Brovary using a housing certificate.
“There are requests, certificate holders are interested in different formats and classes of housing. With the eRestoration certificate, you can purchase any residential property in all Alliance Novobud projects. We have individual offers for each individual request. For example, a discount, installment plan, or lending for the remaining amount by partner banks on special terms,” said Iryna Mikhalova, CMO of Alliance Novobud.
According to the press service of Kovalska Real Estate, when buying a home using a certificate in the developer’s projects, all available promotions and discounts are available to customers, including a loyalty program for military personnel and rescuers. There is also an option to purchase by installments at 0% for up to 3.5 years for an amount exceeding the value of the certificate.
According to the company, customers are interested in purchasing two- and three-bedroom apartments in ready-made buildings. At the same time, in January, apartments were already reserved for two certificates.
The developer also expects to expand its offer with the help of newly constructed facilities.
“At present, the certificate can be used to purchase an apartment in three commissioned houses by Kovalska. We are actively working, and soon it will be possible to apply the certificate to the objects under construction,” the company explained.
The DIM Group also offers to use installment purchase programs from the developer for up to five years if the amount of the certificate does not exceed the cost of the selected apartment. The program covers both already built residential complexes in Kyiv and the region and buildings at the final stage of construction.
“We are already working with the first applications from certificate holders who have chosen an apartment in our residential complexes and applied for a deposit. In the near future, we are waiting for the approval of applications and the receipt of funds,” said Daria Bedia, Marketing Director of DIM.
In general, the surveyed developers assess the housing certificate program with cautious optimism, noting its social importance.
“This is a very important government initiative aimed at helping Ukrainians who lost their homes during the full-scale invasion. It is difficult to overestimate the social component of eRestoration. However, it is difficult to predict whether the certificates will have a significant impact on the primary real estate market,” said Ms. Laevska.
According to the expert, the certificate program can be developed following the example of the eOselya affordable mortgage program, where the share of transactions in the primary market is no more than 2%.
At the same time, with competent support and uninterrupted financing, the compensation program can become a powerful market driver, according to Alliance Novobud.
“Government programs such as eHouse and eRestoration can have a significant impact on the demand and purchasing power of Ukrainians. For example, under the eHouse program, some projects account for up to 40% of sales of the total volume. The new construction market has high expectations for eRestoration,” summarized Mikhaleva.
As of January 31, 462 certificates for UAH 1.1 billion have been sold under the eRestoration compensation program, and another 311 have been booked. The total number of applications for compensation is 9.3 thousand, and 2.6 thousand certificates have been issued.
As reported, on May 10, 2023, Ukraine launched the eRestoration program, under which owners of damaged housing began receiving compensation of up to UAH 200,000 for repairs.
On August 1, 2023, Diia started accepting applications for compensation for housing destroyed by the war. Compensation will be paid to individual owners of housing that was destroyed due to hostilities after February 24, 2022, is not subject to restoration and is located in the unoccupied territory and not in the area of active hostilities. On December 27, 2023, the issuance of housing certificates in Diia began.
In May 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated UAH 4 billion 433 million 350.0 thousand for compensation under the eRestoration program, in November – another UAH 1.5 billion for compensation for damaged property and UAH 2.5 billion for certificates for destroyed property.
American Tesla recalls up to 2.2 million electric cars, including the Cybertruck pickup trucks released this year, due to incorrect font size of warning messages on the dashboard, according to a report on the website of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The font of the messages is too small, which can make it difficult to read critical information and thus increase the likelihood of an accident, the document said.
The recall is being conducted through a free remote software update and affects some of the 2012-2023 Model S, Model X (2016-2024), Model 3 (2017-2023), Model Y (2019-2024) and Cybertruck (2024) vehicles.
Tesla delivered 1.8 million electric vehicles worldwide in 2023.
Shares of the automaker are down 0.8% in pre-market trading on Friday.
In 2023, Ukrposhta increased the number of shipments by 40% and transported 15 million parcels with Ukrzaliznytsia, Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Minister of Community, Territorial and Infrastructure Development Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook on Friday.
“The company is showing steady results. In 2023, Ukrposhta increased the number of shipments by 40%. It delivered 63.6 million units of humanitarian aid. In cooperation with Ukrzaliznytsia, it transported 15 million parcels,” the statement said.
According to the Vice Prime Minister, thanks to the established air service with the United States, more than 1 million Ukrainian goods shipped through Ukrposhta are successfully sold on American marketplaces.
By 2024, the company plans to automate the parcel sorting process and process 100% of shipments using robotic sorting lines, Kubrakov said.
“Ukrposhta has 27 thousand branches in Ukraine, 1.8 thousand mobile branches. The company employs 40 thousand people.
The volume of currency purchases by the Ukrainian population in January 2023 exceeded the volume of its sales by $1 billion 103.2 million compared to $1 billion 26.2 million in December and $621.8 million in November, which was a new record since October 2012, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said.
According to its website, such a result in January was once again provided by the cash currency segment, where its net purchase increased to $885.2m from $807.5m in December and $375-380m in November-October, while the balance of purchase and sale of non-cash currency remained at the level of the previous month – $218.0m.
As reported, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), which has held the official hryvnia exchange rate at $36.5686 UAH/$1 since the end of July 2022, has switched to a regime of managed exchange rate flexibility since October 3. Since late November, under the pressure of increased demand in the market, an obvious trend towards weakening of the national currency has been formed. Despite the increase in the National Bank’s interventions to $3.55 billion, the dollar on the interbank in December rose in price by 4.5%, or UAH 1.65 – to UAH 38.002/$1, and on the cash market due to the jump of about UAH in the last days of the year, its growth in December amounted to 5.3%, or about UAH 2 – to about $39.40 UAH/$1.
At the same time, at the end of January, the official hryvnia exchange rate strengthened to 37.5627 UAH/$1, while in the cash market – to 38.20 UAH/$1, and the spread between them narrowed again.
According to the NBU, after the exchange rate hike in late December, the first ten days of the month net purchase of currency on the non-cash market amounted to $10-30 mln, but after the exchange rate stabilized and the spread narrowed, the volume of net purchases fell significantly.
At the same time, in the cash market net purchase volumes, which averaged $40.5 mln per day in the first ten-day period of January, decreased to $34 mln in the middle of the month, but in the last ten-day period grew to $48.4 mln.
According to some market participants, a new factor in the cash market, as it already happened at the end of last year, may be the adoption of the bill on mobilization, which provides for the arrest of accounts of those who do not appear at the TCC on summons.
According to the National Bank, in general, the volume of non-cash currency sales by households in January decreased to $276.7 million from $311.7 million in December, while the volume of purchases – to $494.7 million from $530.3 million.
In the cash market in January, purchases fell to $1 billion 890.9 million from $2 billion 65.9 million, as did sales to $1 billion 5.8 million from $1 billion 258.4 million.
As reported, in total for 2022, according to official statistics, the population bought $880.1 million more currency than sold, including net purchase of cash currency amounted to $1.01 billion. For 2023, net purchase of currency by the population reached $4 billion 792.8 million, including cash – $3 billion 632.1 million.
In the non-cash foreign exchange market, the purchase of currency by bank customers in January decreased more significantly – to $5.06 billion from $7.06 billion in December, while sales – not so significantly: to $4.17 billion from $4.91 billion.
As a result, net purchases fell to $0.88 billion in January from $2.15 billion in December, back to May-June 2023 levels.
As for the volume of transactions between banks, after December’s all-time record of $5.99bn, it fell to $4.34bn in January, still significantly higher than before the exchange rate liberalization.
