The price of milk in Ukraine has risen by UAH 2, or 15%, since the beginning of July and will continue to rise in September, according to Infagro, an industry analytical agency.
“This scale of price increase is unprecedented for the Ukrainian raw materials market. And this is not the limit of price growth. In September, analysts predict a further increase in milk prices,” the analysts said.
They cited market changes, shortages of raw materials and rising costs due to limited energy supply as the reasons for the significant rise in the price of milk and dairy products.
Experts also noted that in the second half of August, hot weather set in again, which did not allow cattle to recover from the abnormal July heat. Cow productivity did not increase. The seasonal decline in milk production also contributed to the problem. At the same time, demand for raw materials increased, which led to a further significant rise in milk prices. In the last week of August, the problem of energy supply became more acute due to another hostile shelling.
In addition, in July, both the number of cows and milk production decreased significantly. Analysts cited data from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, according to which, as of August 1, 2024, 1 million 255.4 thousand cows were kept in the private and industrial sectors of Ukraine, which is 7% less than a year ago. In agricultural enterprises, the number of cows decreased by 2%, to 380 thousand. The statistics for August are not better, according to the analytical review.
“Given the high cost of raw materials and the influence of other factors, dairy products are becoming more expensive. And if prices for finished dairy products are growing slowly, the cost of exchange goods has increased quite quickly and significantly,” Infagro summarized.
Metinvest Group, as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative, has built the country’s first underground hospital for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in coordination with the Vostok Medical Forces, to provide primary medical care and stabilize the condition of warriors after being wounded on the front line, having invested more than UAH 20 million, the group said in a press release on Tuesday
In turn, the Defense Ministry in a statement on its website indicated that the hospital was the first in a large-scale project implemented by the ministry in coordination with the Medical Forces Vostok, and in total it provides for the construction of more than two dozen underground stabpoints.
It is specified that the first facility is located near the front line and is designed to provide medical assistance to Ukrainian defenders in the safest possible conditions. The hospital is built on the basis of six enlarged steel bunkers-“kryivoks” developed by Metinvest, each of which is 7.6 meters long and 2.5 meters in diameter. Ventilation, water supply, drainage and alternative power supply systems have been installed to ensure the functioning of the facility.
Additional security measures have been taken during the installation of the underground hospital, in particular, it is additionally equipped with high-power REB systems and alternative power sources.
“Such underground stabpoints are critically important for preserving the lives of our military… This is the first step in a large-scale project that will strengthen our medical infrastructure and allow to support defenders on the front line even more effectively,” emphasized Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
“Metinvest” specified that the staffing of the hospital corresponds to the level of field hospitals of the second echelon (Role/Echelon 2) in accordance with NATO standards, and the investment included the cost of not only the construction of the hospital, but also the completion of its equipment.
“A medical hospital at a depth of many meters underground is the most ambitious and complex project we have had to implement since the beginning of the full-scale invasion within the framework of Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative,” said Metinvest’s Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Mironenko.
It is noted that the steel underground hospital is not inferior to civilian hospitals in terms of medical equipment. In particular, Metinvest has equipped the hospital with oxygen concentrators, ventilator, cardiac monitors, defibrillators, operating equipment and lighting, sterilizers, patient heating systems, medical furniture for the total amount of more than UAH 7 million.
“This underground hospital is the best of stabilization points. It will allow to provide medical care to more than 100 patients per day, saving hundreds of lives of our heroes. I hope that the number of such facilities will grow,” said Roman Kuzev, acting commander of Medical Forces Vostok.
A new educational institution of the KAN Development educational network, Architectural and Engineering Collegium A+ (AIC+), opened in Kiev on Monday. The collegium is designed for 680 students, the company’s representatives said at the opening of AIC+. The area of the building is 13.1 thousand square meters, the total area of the training center is 3.30 hectares, of which 4 thousand sq. m. – shelter area. The training center is located on the territory of the residential neighborhood “Faina Town” in Kiev.
The company explained that the project is a conceptual educational complex that combines kindergarten, primary, secondary school, specialized lyceum and extracurricular activities in engineering, IT and architecture.
KAN added that $23 million was invested directly in the collegium, while the construction of each school shelter cost almost UAH 65 million.
As of today, KAN Development has invested over $100 million in educational institutions.
AIC+ became the 15th educational institution of the A+ network, where 3 thousand children study in full-day format and 700 teachers teach.
A+ activities began in 2005 at the initiative of Ivanna Nikonova. To date, the A+ educational network consists of three elementary school, two secondary schools, four kindergartens, three children’s clubs, a distance education center, a sports and music school and a wide range of extracurricular studios.
The market of new passenger cars has added 50-60% in 1.5 months amid the government’s initiative to introduce a 15% military tax on car buyers, according to AUTO-Consulting, an information and analytical group.
“It is safe to say that rumors of a 15% additional tax have activated about 4000+ buyers of new cars in 1.5 months. And this added 50-60% to the market. We can’t think of a more effective advertising campaign,” the group said in a statement on its website.
At the same time, in August, AUTO-Consulting recorded a 36 percent increase in sales by August 2023 and a 38 percent increase by July this year – up to 8.3 thousand units, and noted that such a number of cars have not been sold in Ukraine in a month for a long time.
“At the end of July, the beginning of the rush was already recorded, which brought a thousand additional cars to the car market,” the report recalls.
As reported, on July 18, the Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the Rada Bill No. 11416 on amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine, which, in particular, proposed to levy 15% of the military tax on car buyers, which was opposed by a number of car business representatives.
In late August, the finalized draft law no longer contained this provision.
AUTO-Consulting notes that not all dealers were ready for such a sharp jump in sales, but the market leader Toyota confidently kept its pace (up 44.5% compared to July), and Renault managed to move up to second place from third in July with a 76.2% increase in sales. BMW has consolidated its position in the top three, while Skoda, which took fourth place, almost doubled its sales.
“It is interesting that for the second month we have seen an abnormal number of electric vehicles – 16%, and some brands of ‘Chinese imports’ have already registered in the top ten,” the group’s analysts note.
At the same time, they suggest that some of these cars were indeed purchased, but a significant amount was simply registered by dealers to avoid the possible consequences of a 15% rise in price during the introduction of the military tax.
“Therefore, we will see the real volume of “electric trains” by the end of September, when the excitement around the new taxes will disappear,” they summarize.
AUTO-Consulting also emphasizes that not only the threat of the military tax has activated the car market – during the month there were large purchases by corporate clients, many cars were bought by the state, so this is a complex result.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and grain market participants in addenda to the memorandum of understanding fixed in 2024/2025 marketing year the limit for export volume of 16.2 million tons of wheat and a mixture of wheat and rye (meslin) according to the code UKT VED 1001, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported.
“The purpose of signing the memorandum and its annex is to ensure food security, predictable, anticipated, flexible and stable grain export regime and sustainable functioning of the grain market in Ukraine,” the press service quoted Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky as saying.
The parties also agreed on monthly monitoring of the volume of grain exports and, if necessary, adjustment of the limit export volume in January 2025.
As reported, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and grain market participants in July 2024 signed a memorandum of understanding for 2024/25 MY. The parties agreed to cooperate on coordination of balance characteristics of the grain market of Ukraine to ensure food security, stabilization of the grain market, projected grain exports and receipt of foreign exchange earnings.
Agrarians in all regions of Ukraine have started sowing winter crops for grain and are actively sowing rapeseed. As of the beginning of September, 484.1 thou hectares of winter crops have been sown, including 446.2 thou hectares of rapeseed and 37.9 thou hectares of grain, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported.
According to the report, winter wheat has already been sown on 27.7 thousand hectares, winter barley – on 2.2 thousand hectares, winter rye – on 8 thousand hectares.
According to the Ministry, due to favorable weather conditions, rapeseed sowing has already been completed in Volyn, Sumy and Ternopil regions. Agrarians in Vinnytsia, Lviv and Chernivtsi regions have started sowing winter crops.
As of September 5, 699.7 thou hectares of winter crops were sown in Ukraine, including 654.9 thou hectares of rapeseed, 42.5 thou hectares of winter wheat, 1.2 thou hectares of winter barley, and 1.1 thou hectares of winter rye.
