The launch of a new plant for primary processing of industrial hemp in the Ma’Ryzhany industrial park in Zhytomyr region is scheduled for March-April 2025, said Dmytro Kysylevsky, deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development.
“The construction of a new plant at the industrial Ma’Rizhany has reached the final stage. We plan to launch production of natural fibers and fescue in March-April. The volume of investments in the first line of the project is about $25 million,” he wrote on Facebook on Monday after his visit to the IP.
He reminded that the equipment for the new plant was imported with a zero VAT rate and import duty.
“An attempt is being made in Riga to revive the entire industrial hemp processing industry. Fiber production is large-scale, but only the first stage of processing. The next stage is yarn production. It will also require an investment of about $25 million. If we talk about launching the production of hemp fabric, this will bring the total cost of the project to $100-120 million,” the MP said.
Kysylevsky noted that the management company Ma’Rizhany Hemp Company organized the cultivation and harvest of the first harvest of industrial hemp on the territory of 700 hectares on its own. Next year, it is planned to increase this area to 1200 hectares, as well as to involve another 500-600 hectares of Zhytomyr region farmers in the project.
“Although the cultivation of industrial hemp requires separate licensing and is under the scrutiny of law enforcement, it is highly profitable. And the fiber from the first harvest has already been contracted by almost 100% before the plant was launched,” Kisilevsky wrote.
According to him, buyers from France and Belgium came to Riga and saw the high quality of the raw materials.
“Fabric made from Ukrainian hemp will be used to make premium clothing from leading European designers. In general, the possibilities for production based on the processing of industrial hemp are very wide: bedding, ropes, sailcloth, tarpaulin, and even special paper for printing money,” the MP added.
It is expected that in the first year of operation, the new plant in Ryzhany will employ 200 residents of Zhytomyr region and process 4.5 thousand tons of raw materials. In the following years, the number of jobs will be 700, and the processing volume will be up to 12 thousand tons.
As reported, the Ma’Rizhany Industrial Park occupies 28 hectares, the territory of a former flax processing plant. It will become the first park in Europe for the primary processing of bast crops. It was included in the IP Register in August 2024.
The closure of the Mykolaiv seaport has brought the shipbuilding industry to a standstill and halted shipping on the E-40 river routes (Dnipro and Southern Bug), so the development of alternative export routes is an urgent need for food security in the world, said Mykhailo Rizak, Director of Government Relations at Nibulon JV LLC.
“Mykolaiv’s port facilities are ready to resume operations as soon as a political decision is made to open them, which will increase transshipment competition and reduce the cost of export logistics. More than 100 vessels are still blocked in the Mykolaiv port hub, including 30 foreign sea vessels and 70 vessels for inland waterways,” the agroholding’s press service quoted him as saying at a meeting with French Ambassador to Ukraine Gael Veyer.
Rizak noted that the evacuated vessels, which were previously used for transportation, are now idle and looking for new water routes around the world, including the Danube River.
“The development of alternative export routes is no longer a matter of choice, but an urgent need for food security in the world. Today, the Danube ports are strategic for Ukraine’s economic security, and we must do everything possible to maintain their competitiveness,” Rizak said.
Nibulon representatives paid special attention to the tariff policy of Ukrzaliznytsia during the negotiations. They emphasized that with the opening of Odesa’s deep-water ports, the cost of transportation through the Danube ports has become at least $5 per ton more expensive, and with the announced tariff indexation, the difference could be up to $7.
The indexation of Ukrzaliznytsia’s tariffs will either be a lifeline for water transportation on the Danube River or an unbearable dead anchor, the agricultural holding company is confident.
Rizak pointed to the possibility of indexing rail transportation without applying it to routes to/from railway stations near Danube ports.
“This will make it possible to equalize the Danube’s competition with deep-water seaports and stimulate further development of the Danube infrastructure, which has been supported by the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine project and other international donor programs. Thus, Ukraine will ensure sustainable exports without losing money in the event of an aggravation of the security situation in the Black Sea, and international partners will see the real implementation of the European Commission’s decision to build solidarity routes,” Nibulon emphasized.
The French Ambassador highly appreciated the work of Nibulon and expressed his readiness to assist in resolving important issues at the international level.
Nibulon was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, a one-time storage capacity of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
The grain trader is currently operating at 32% of capacity, has set up a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines and had to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
The Supervisory Board of the insurance group “TAS” (Kiev) has decided to terminate the activities of the Volyn regional directorate, as well as Rivne and Kherson branches, the company reported in the information disclosure system of the National Commission for Securities and Stock Market. As it is specified, the decision was made in connection with the reorganization of the network of separate subdivisions.
Earlier SG “TAS” reported that it refuses the traditional system of separate subdivisions, because in the new conditions, this model does not fully meet the current requirements and is essentially outdated.
“2025 will be without exaggeration the year of cardinal changes in the insurance industry of Ukraine, which is associated primarily with the updated legislative framework, fundamentally changing the rules of the game for all participants and aimed at bringing the work of the domestic market to European standards. TAS Insurance Group has decided to transform its sales network into a partner network”, – noted in the group.
SG “TAS” was registered in 1998. It is a universal company offering its clients more than 80 types of insurance products for various types of voluntary and compulsory insurance. It has an extensive regional network: 28 regional directorates and branches and 450 sales offices throughout Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump has lifted the moratorium on the issuance of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export licenses imposed by his predecessor Joe Biden. The US Department of Energy reported that it is returning to the normal regime of reviewing export applications in accordance with Trump’s order.
“The Department has been instructed to resume reviewing applications for the export of US LNG to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the United States. The proper review of export applications is required by law and must be carried out accordingly,” the Energy Ministry said in a statement.
In December, the agency published the results of a study on LNG exports and set February 18 as the deadline for public comments on it. Now the Ministry of Energy has decided to extend the comment period until March 20, 2025.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank, Brian Mefford and Maxim Urakin, released a video analysis on what changes are expected to occur in US domestic and foreign policy under Trump, the video is available on the Experts Club YouTube channel – https://youtu.be/W2elNY1xczM?si=MM-QjSqGce4Tlq6T
EXPERTS CLUB, EXPORT, GAS, LICENSE, MORATORIUM, TRUMP, URAKIN, Меффорд
DTEK Energy machine builders manufactured and repaired almost 1.1 thousand units of mining equipment in 2024.
“The key products include 11 new roadheaders and shearers,” the energy holding said in a press release on Tuesday.
The machine builders also provided more than a million spare parts and components to meet the needs of miners.
“Reliability of the energy sector and the heating season largely depend on the coordination and daily work of everyone. Ukrainian machine builders continue to make a significant contribution to this by supporting miners and Ukrainian coal mining,” said DTEK Energy CEO Oleksandr Fomenko.
As reported, last year DTEK Energy’s investments in Ukrainian coal mining amounted to about UAH 7.5 billion and were directed to the construction and repair of capital mine workings, completion of coal faces, provision of mine tunnelling equipment, underground mine transport and production capacity support projects.
“DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity generation from coal. The company’s installed capacity in thermal generation amounted to 13.3 GW as of January 2022. The company has established a full production cycle in coal mining: coal mining and enrichment, mechanical engineering, and maintenance of mine equipment.
Currently, most of DTEK Group’s thermal generation facilities have been destroyed as a result of Russian attacks.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to temporarily suspend all US foreign aid programs for 90 days pending a review to determine whether they meet his policy goals, the White House website reports.
“All heads of departments and agencies responsible for U.S. foreign development assistance programs should immediately suspend new commitments and disbursements of development assistance funds to foreign governments and non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors providing development assistance until an analysis of such programs regarding their effectiveness and consistency with U.S. foreign policy is completed, to be conducted within 90 days of the date of this order,” the document says.
It is unclear how much aid is covered by the order, as funding for many programs has already been appropriated by Congress and should be spent, if not already.
