USAID’s Investing for Business Sustainability project has signed four co-investment agreements with Ukrainian companies for $6 million under the Business Growth Support Program, the project’s press office reported on Facebook.
“The goal of the program was to support companies that will be able to quickly increase exports, sales and create new jobs,” the program stressed.
Among the recipients is Delta Food agro-industrial group (TM Gulyai-pole), which produces more than 90% of mayonnaise products on the Ukrainian market. The company received financing of $1 mln to develop production of sauces in glass containers with subsequent export to the Baltic States and for realization on the domestic market.
Uterm Ukraine LLC (Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region), a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of steel heating radiators, received $2 mln to expand its production after relocation. The company is expected to create 250+ new jobs.
Suziria Group, which specializes in pet products, also received $2M to expand its network of production facilities. With financial support from the project and a $4.5 loan from Oschadbank, the company has ordered new equipment and is preparing to launch a wet cat food plant.
In addition, Karat LLC, a carpet manufacturer, received $1 million from the project and attracted additional bank financing to purchase raw materials. This allowed the company to retain 725 jobs, resume export activities, and approach pre-war production levels.
USAID’s Investing for Business Resilience (IBR) project is a five-year program implemented by DAI Global that supports systemic change in Ukraine’s economy and increases the supply of financing available to Ukrainian businesses.
NPC Ukrenergo currently sees no reason to introduce schedules for limiting electricity consumption for households, the company said on Telegram.
“The drop in air temperature at the beginning of next week will indeed predictably lead to an increase in energy consumption. But whether this will require the use of blackouts (in particular, for household consumers) can only be predicted by NPC Ukrenergo, which has not yet provided any forecasts on the application of restrictive measures,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
It is emphasized that Ukrenergo, together with the Ministry of Energy, regional military administrations and energy companies, is doing everything possible to ensure that there is no need to apply blackouts now.
As reported, Volodymyr Velychko, an independent member of Centrenergo’s supervisory board, said in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine that hourly power outage schedules could start as early as next week with a significant drop in temperature.
In response, Centrenergo called the assumption of possible power outages the personal opinion of a member of its supervisory board.
Schedules of power supply restrictions for households are introduced after other measures to balance the power system, such as internal reserves, imports, emergency assistance, and schedules of restrictions for industry, have been exhausted.
Increased trade activity stimulates the growth of prices for carrots in Ukrainian farms, according to analysts of the EastFruit project. According to the producers themselves, at the moment this root vegetable is actively purchased by both wholesale companies, which put it in storage, and the population, which forms stocks for the winter. In addition, sales to retail chains remain quite stable.
Today, farmers in the main regions of production ship quality carrots at 18-25 UAH/kg ($0.16-0.22/kg), which is on average 12% more expensive than at the end of last week. However, industry experts emphasize that the trend of price growth is observed only in the segment of high quality carrots, which are purchased for storage.
It should be noted that at the moment prices for quality carrots in Ukraine are already on average 3.3 times higher than in the same period last year. At the same time, some producers plan to further increase prices for carrots, provided the current sales rates are maintained.
You can get more detailed information about the development of carrots and other fruit and vegetable products market in Ukraine by subscribing to the operative analytical weekly – EastFruit Ukraine Weekly Pro. Detailed product information is available here.
https://east-fruit.com/novosti/v-ukraine-rastut-tseny-na-kachestvennuyu-morkov/
As of October 25, farmers in all regions of Ukraine have harvested 66.7 million tons of new crops from 18.6 million hectares, compared to 63.7 million tons and 18.1 million hectares a week earlier.
As reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food on Friday, 47.2 million tons (45.1 million tons) of grains and legumes, 18.8 million tons (18.6 million tons) of oilseeds and 9.5 million tons (8.3 million tons) of sugar beets have already been harvested.
The Ministry specified that the harvest of wheat has been completed, with 22.3 million tons harvested from 4.9 million hectares at a yield of 42.4 c/ha, barley – 5.5 million tons from 1.4 million hectares at a yield of 39.2 c/ha, peas – 465.3 million tons from 212.2 thousand hectares at a yield of 21.9 c/ha, and rapeseed – 3.5 million tons from 1.3 million hectares at a yield of 27.3 c/ha.
Corn harvesting continues, with 18.3 million tons (15.4 million tons a week earlier) from 3.07 million hectares (76% of the plan), buckwheat – 126.9 thousand tons (124.8 thousand tons) from 87.5 thousand hectares (98%), millet – 160.2 thousand tons (159.5 thousand tons) from 85.9 thousand hectares (92%).
The oilseeds harvest is nearing completion in Ukraine. In particular, 5.73 mln tonnes of soybeans have been harvested (5.6 mln tonnes a week earlier) from 2.52 mln ha (95%), and 9.599 mln tonnes of sunflower (9.5 mln tonnes) from 4.67 mln ha (95%).
At the same time, the leaders in grain harvesting are farmers in Odesa region who threshed 4.4 mln ha, Poltava region – 4 mln tons, Chernihiv region – 3.7 mln tons. In terms of yields, the leaders are farmers of Khmelnytsky region with 72.3 c/ha, Chernihiv region – 67 c/ha and Chernivtsi region – 65.6 c/ha.
China has lifted all restrictions on foreign investors’ access to the country’s manufacturing industry, a landmark move for the world’s second-largest economy, Xinhua news agency reports. On Friday, a new list of sectors of the economy prohibited for foreign investment came into effect, and the last two items related to manufacturing were removed from it. The number of “closed” industries was reduced to 29.
The new document suggests that China’s manufacturing industry has reached a world-leading level of openness. Almost all developing countries impose restrictions on foreign investment in this sector, and even some developed countries continue to maintain certain restrictions, according to experts from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
In 2010, the volume of value added in China’s manufacturing industry exceeded that of the United States for the first time. In 2023, it accounted for approximately 30% of the global total, allowing the country to remain the world’s largest producer for 14 consecutive years.
In recent years, China has seen a steady increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in high-tech manufacturing. In January-September of this year, the volume of actually utilized foreign investment increased by 57.3% and 29.2% year-on-year in the medical equipment and instrumentation industries, as well as in the computer and office equipment sector.
The Ukrainian Association of Developers, which unites the largest construction companies, has reported that the industry is being systematically blocked by a number of politicians and “pseudo-activists.”
The official statement recalls that the aggressor has destroyed the homes of more than 1.5 million Ukrainian families, and that construction volumes have halved compared to pre-war levels. According to minimal estimates, it will take at least 25 years to provide housing for these families under current conditions. Creating conditions for the development of the construction industry and providing housing for Ukrainians should be one of the government’s priorities.
“However, the construction industry is not just deprived of support, it is under constant pressure and blocking. Today, some politicians and pseudo-activists, officials and judges are trying to take developers, who stand behind millions of Ukrainian families and hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, as economic hostages. They, along with some representatives of certain structures, are illegally blocking the work of an entire sector of the economy. In some cases, the authorities either indulge them or simply pretend that the problem does not exist,” the statement reads.
The Association conducted a study of the situation in 2017-2024, interviewed 13 out of 22 member companies, and analyzed 193 criminal proceedings. On average, there are five cases per facility, with 52% of cases involving violations by public officials, 84% of cases involving seizure of accounts and property, interrogations and searches. Only 17% of cases have been completed. At the same time, 74% of respondents reported that the provisions of the Criminal Code on limiting the time of pre-trial investigation and applying the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution for offenses are not being implemented. For example, the oldest episode in which a case was opened was 17 years old.
“After a year of construction, an official can cancel his own decision issued under the law under pressure from the street. Some law enforcement officials can open criminal proceedings only on the basis of a desire to invite businesses to “discuss a financial issue.” As a result, pseudo-activists and law enforcement officers make money, the economy loses, and citizens do not receive their housing,” the Ukrainian Association of Developers said in a statement.
The authors of the statement emphasize that the construction industry is under constant pressure and blocking. Even if they have all the permits and documents, builders have no guarantee that central or local authorities will not change the rules on the fly and block construction. As a result, developers go bankrupt, the economy loses billions, and people do not receive housing, developers emphasize.
The Association warns that further ignoring the problems of the industry by the state will lead to catastrophic consequences. The industry will come to a standstill, and housing prices will skyrocket, making it even more unaffordable for most citizens.
Ukraine’s largest construction companies are calling on the President, the Cabinet of Ministers and other authorities to intervene.
“We demand fair rules! Restore compliance with the law in the construction industry by all its participants! To stop the arbitrariness of pseudo-activists and law enforcement officers! Bring extortionists and blackmailers to justice! To consider the issue of cultural heritage exclusively in the legal field, and not under pressure from the street! Prohibit the application of laws and regulations retroactively! Stop rewriting the rules in the construction industry on the fly!” the statement reads.
If this is not done today, there will be no one to rebuild the country tomorrow, the Association of Developers summarizes.
Established in November 2023, the Ukrainian Association of Developers (UA Developers) unites the leaders of the domestic real estate market. Today, they are KAN Development, RIEL, Stolitsa Group, SAGA Development, Kovalska, Intergal-Bud, Perfect Group, DIM, TARYAN Group (Poznyakyzhytlobud), Association of Western Ukrainian Developers, ENSO, BudCapital, BUD Development, IB Alliance, Futura, Liko-Holding, GEOS, Citex Development, Ave New Development, Caspian Service, UDP and Consulting Development. Together, the Association members represent 92% of the primary real estate market in Kyiv and 24% of the Ukrainian market.
