If necessary, Poland will impose a unilateral ban on imports of Ukrainian grain after September 15, while the transit of goods will be maintained, Agriculture Minister Robert Telusz told Polsat News at a press conference on Tuesday.
He denied media reports that a split in the coalition of countries banning Ukrainian grain imports had occurred and that the number of EU member states opposing Poland’s position on extending restrictive measures after September 15 had increased from 13 to 20.
“This is the first time I’ve heard that more countries are against it. I have talked to many ministers from the European Union about this. I see an understanding that we need to build a coalition. We have to build a mechanism. I am convinced that Romania is a member of the coalition,” Telusz was quoted as saying by the Polish publication farmer.pl.
He also said that next week he will hold talks with representatives of Slovakia to determine together “in which direction we will move.”
“At the moment, I have no doubt that there is a coalition,” Telusz assured.
The Polish minister emphasized that keeping the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain only until September 15 is “a political argument to further destabilize the situation in Poland.”
“We will not allow this,” he assured.
The Polish government wants this issue to be resolved “amicably in the European Union, so that there is no need to break down the door.”
“If it is necessary (…) to introduce unilateral bans, we will introduce them, because we are concerned about the interests of farmers (…), and there is no discussion on this topic,” Telusz stated.
Answering a question about possible risks of penalties being imposed on Poland if it violates the rules of the single market, the Minister said that “I don’t want to hear how we, the Poles, are being scared by fines (…)” and added that Poland “will pursue a tough policy in the interests of the Poles.”
Telusz said that Poland is in dialogue with Ukraine, Lithuania, and Latvia to transit grain through Poland.
“We are in dialogue with Ukraine, as well as with Lithuania and Latvia, to use their ports,” he said, and assured that the grain that leaves Poland does not return.
“If we are talking about the food security of Poland, the food security of Europe, then the grain must flow to Europe and must flow outside of Europe. We will help you on the way,” the head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture said.
According to him, before the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain, about 114 thousand tons of grain entered Poland in transit, and in June – 260 thousand tons. At the same time, about 6 million tons of grain “left” Poland. Poland has about 3-4 million tons of grain left, “but this is a reserve that should always be there,” as the monthly demand for it is 2.5 million tons, the Polish Minister of Agriculture explained.
On June 5, the European Commission agreed to extend until September 15 the restrictions on exports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. “The restrictions do not imply a ban on the transit of these goods through Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia,” reads the document signed by EC President Ursula von der Leyen.
ALC Insurance Company ARKS Life (ARX Life, Kyiv) has collected insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 152,2 mln in January-June 2023, that is by 11,2% more than in the same period a year earlier, according to the website of RA Standard-Rating. According to RA information on the company’s renewal of credit rating/rating of financial stability (reliability) of the insurer at the level “uaAAA” according to the national scale, the volume of payments and indemnities, performed by the insurer for the first half of 2023, has grown in comparison with the same period of 2022 by 32,05%, to UAH 31,818 mln. Thus, the level of payments of the insurer has increased by 3,32 percentage points (p.p.), up to 20,91%.
At the same time, acquisition costs have grown by 6,51%, up to UAH 77,997 mln.
The company’s net profit for January-June amounted to UAH 33.963 mln, which is 2.44 times more than the profit obtained in the first half of 2022.
Assets as of June 30 increased by 15.77% to UAH 267.289 mln, equity – by 28.38% to UAH 153.655 mln, liabilities – by 2.19% to UAH 113.634 mln, cash and cash equivalents – by 33.25% to UAH 88.221 mln.
RA also notes that as of July 1 of the current year the insurer has made financial investments in the amount of UAH 159,267 mln, which consisted of government bonds (85,09%), OVDP (2,35%) and deposits in banks (12,56%).
ARX Life, like ARX, is part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. ARX Life is among the top 10 companies in the life insurance market in Ukraine.
JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya transferred UAH 13.88 billion of rent payments to the consolidated budget of the country based on the results of its activities from January to August 2023.
“Of this amount, 5%, or UAH 693.9 million, will go to the budgets of local and regional levels in 11 regions where the company produces hydrocarbons,” the company said in a press release.
In particular, Kharkiv region will receive UAH 336.9 million, Poltava region – UAH 292.21 million, Lviv region – UAH 31.8 million, Dnipropetrovs’k region – UAH 18.38 million, and other regions – UAH 14.62 million.
“The amount of rent payments is calculated according to the sale price of Ukrgasvydobuvannya’s natural gas in favor of Naftogaz of Ukraine.
Turkey’s Onur Group has acquired Rokytnivsky Spetskarier LLC, which produces granite, granodiorite and gabbro-diabase at the Rokytnivsky deposit in Rivne region.
According to Nadra.info, in May 2023, Onur Construction International LLC became the sole participant of Rokytnivsky Special Quarry LLC, and on June 1, Turkish citizens Iskhan and Onur Cetinjeeviz were named as the ultimate beneficiaries of the quarry.
The former co-owners of the company were Inna Samoilik and Ihor Vivchar, the latter being the director of Rokytnivsky Special Quarry.
According to the protocol of the State Commission of Ukraine for Mineral Resources dated June 15, 2017, the reserves of Rokytne deposit amount to 9.6 million cubic meters. The special permit for subsoil use issued to Rokytnivsky Special Quarry is valid until 2038.
According to the publication, as of August 2023, Onur Group controls eight mining assets in Ukraine.
Source: https://nadra.info/2023/08/onur-acquired-another-mining-company-in-ukraine
The construction of the Vinnytsia Industrial Park (Volia Agri-Food Park Vinnytsia) has started, said Andriy Ocheretyanyi, deputy mayor of Vinnytsia.
“Preparatory work is already underway. Over time, the agri-food park will have a modern business center for residents, a logistics center and a Light Industry Box to accommodate the production of small food enterprises,” he wrote on Facebook.
A total area of 35.7 hectares has been allocated for the construction of Volia Agri-Food Park Vinnytsia. The expected amount of investment is about UAH 3 billion. The project organizers plan to employ about 2000 people.
According to the press service of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, the first stage of construction of the agri-food park involves the development of utilities, roads, and landscaping in the park, the construction of a business center for residents, a Light Industry Box to accommodate the production of small food companies, and a logistics center.
According to the project administration, the infrastructure and service capabilities of Volia Agri-Food Park Vinnytsia can attract residents from the entire product creation chain – from research and innovation, recipe development and new product creation to mass production, as well as warehouse and transport logistics, product certification, sales organization and export potential development.
“Volia Agri-Food Park Vinnytsia will provide international and Ukrainian food companies with ready-made solutions for business relocation and scaling,” the press service quoted Borys Shestopalov, founder and investor of Volia Agri-Food Park Vinnytsia, as saying.
According to the businessman, who is also a co-owner of food tech companies HD Gtroup and GFS, the infrastructure is expected to meet the latest requirements in the field of high technology, energy efficiency and ecology to reduce operating costs and increase the profitability of food companies.
Benchmark crude oil prices are down slightly on Tuesday morning after declining the previous day.
The price of October futures for Brent on the London-based ICE Futures exchange at 8:00 a.m. Q4 is at $84.34 per barrel, down 12 cents (0.14%) from the previous session’s close. On Monday, these contracts fell in price by $0.34 (0.4%) – to $84.46 per barrel.
Quotes of futures for WTI crude oil for September at the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by the specified time decreased by 2 cents (0.02%) and amounted to $80.7 per barrel. At the end of the last session they fell by $0.53 (0.7%) – to $80.72 per barrel.
Negative factors for the market in recent days are concerns about the slow growth of the Chinese economy and strengthening of the dollar on expectations of new Fed rate hikes.
“Overall, oil demand and prices are being held back by slowing global economic growth and a global recession in the manufacturing sector,” said Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics.
However, OPEC forecasts still call for global oil demand growth of more than 2% in 2023 and 2024, Schenker noted. In addition, data from the U.S. Department of Energy indicate a decline in crude stockpiles in annual terms.
