Moldovan Agriculture and Food Minister Vladimir Bola will meet on Monday with sunflower seed producers and processors due to the difficult situation in his country with sunflower oil production. According to the Moldovan news agency Infotag, the decision to discuss the problem was made after Floarea Soarelui, the largest oil producer, shut down two plants. The producers said they had no raw materials, as farmers refused to sell their seeds at the current market price, and sunflower imports are strictly licensed.
“Today, Moldova’s sunflower seed stocks are about 350 thsd tonnes, so any statements about lack of stocks are speculation. At the same time, the pricing policy should be objective, fair and responsible towards the end consumer,” Bola wrote on Facebook.
He emphasized that “by abandoning political statements and relying solely on the economic component,” the Ministry of Agriculture of Moldova will provide a platform for dialogue between seed producers and processors.
“Each party will provide real figures so that we can make decisions and find viable solutions for the new sunflower harvest,” Bola said.
As reported, Moldova has extended the licensing of sunflower seed imports from Ukraine for three months.
The volume of revenues of telecom operators from international roaming services in Ukraine in 2023 increased 1.3 times compared to 2022 – up to UAH 3.96 billion and 3.3 times more than in 2021, follows from the report of the National Commission carrying out state regulation in the spheres of electronic communications, radio frequency spectrum and provision of postal services (NKEC) on Thursday.
“The above is due to the forced migration of the Ukrainian population to other countries of the world, primarily to the EU member states, due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation,” the report said.
Revenues from mobile services in 2023 increased by 9% to UAH 61.7 billion. Of this amount, UAH 41 billion (66.4% of the total_ came from data transmission. Including Internet access – UAH 7.4 billion (12%) were voice telephony services, UAH 1.1 billion (1.8%) were number portability services.
PJSC Ukrnafta has started drilling a new exploration oil well at a field located in western Ukraine.
“This will be an exploration well with a design depth of 1211 meters. The expected initial flow rate is 22.6 tons of oil per day. The productive horizon is the Stryian deposits,” the company said in a press release on Thursday.
The well is being constructed by a contractor, Navigator Komplekt LLC, which was selected through the Prozorro online procurement platform.
“It is worth noting that the contractor will drill three wells sequentially from one site,” the company said.
As reported, in 2023 Ukrnafta increased oil and condensate production by 3% (by 39.9 thousand tons) compared to 2022 – up to 1 million 409.9 thousand tons, gas production by 5.8% (by 60.4 million cubic meters), up to 1 billion 97.4 million cubic meters.
The company’s strategic goal is to double oil and natural gas production to 3 million tons and 2 billion cubic meters by 2027, respectively.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share. On November 5, 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state a share of corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is now managed by the Ministry of Defense.
The Ukrainian Weather Center warns of dangerous meteorological phenomena in Kyiv region on Friday, March 29: wind gusts will reach 15-20 m/s during the day, the first level of danger.
“A warning about dangerous meteorological phenomena in Kyiv region. Cloudy with clearings. Light, moderate rain at night and during the day. Southwest wind with a shift to northwest, 7-12 m/s, gusts of 15-20 m/s during the day,” the Ukrainian Weather Center said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
The temperature in the region will be 4-9° Celsius at night, 11-16° Celsius during the day; in Kyiv, 6-8° Celsius at night, 12-14° Celsius during the day.
“On March 29, in the afternoon, wind gusts of 15-20 m/s, danger level I, yellow,” the Ukrhydrometeorological center said in a statement.
JSC “Slavic Wallpapers – KFTB” (formerly Koryukivka Technical Paper Factory, Chernihiv region), a leading Ukrainian wallpaper manufacturer, reported a net profit of UAH 47.68 million in 2023, up almost 7.7 times compared to the same period in 2022.
According to the announcement of a general meeting of shareholders to be held on April 30 on the results of work in 2023, the company does not plan to distribute the profit.
According to Clarity-project, at the beginning of this year, the company’s retained earnings amounted to UAH 1 billion 908 million.
As reported, in 2022, the factory reduced its net profit seven times year-on-year to UAH 6.22 million.
At the meeting, shareholders plan to re-elect the supervisory board, among other things.
According to the NSSMC, as of the third quarter of 2023, 56.12% of the JSC’s shares were owned by Slavich-Invest LLC, and another 24.991% by Slavich Trading House LLC (both based in Koryukivka).
JSC Slavic Wallpaper-KFTB is one of the largest European wallpaper factories, producing more than 10 types of wallpaper from the economy segment (paper, duplex, acrylic) to premium wallpaper (vinyl, non-woven, hot stamped).
As reported, in 2023, KFTB produced 16.2 million conventional pieces of wallpaper, up 19% year-on-year, with production increasing by 38.2% to UAH 1 billion 249 million.
Metinvest Group’s Central Mining and Processing Plant (CMP, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro region) has modernized its pellet production equipment.
According to the company’s press release, the pelletizing plant has completed a major overhaul of the OK-324 roasting machine.
It is specified that the pelletizing plant’s process equipment operates continuously, around the clock, for more than 7.5 thousand hours a year, so its technical condition is of high priority. The repairs were carried out as part of the pellet production process optimization program.
“One of the key areas was the restoration of the refractory masonry of the roasting machine’s furnace and the repair of six nozzles. This is crucial for maintaining the thermal insulation of the roasting machine’s furnace space and will help avoid the destruction of the brickwork and ensure continuous operation during the overhaul period,” explained Andrey Ivanov, Deputy Head of the pelletizing plant at the Central Enrichment Plant.
Reportedly, an experimental solution was also implemented during the repair to apply shotcrete to the surface of the No. 9 and No. 10 tanks. This can significantly increase the resistance of refractory insulation by reducing the impact of biofuels. Additionally, the drip traps of smoke exhausters D2 and D5 were repaired, and three sections of drip trap No. 2 of smoke exhausters D2 were completely replaced. This will help reduce emissions and improve the gas dynamics of the heat flow.
The installed shaft rotation of the D3 smoke exhauster will reduce the equipment’s operating time during the plant shutdown for scheduled repairs, help reduce energy consumption, and increase equipment reliability. In addition, the conveyor transport was maintained, including the replacement of rollers, seals, and lining of the reloading units.
Central GOK is one of the five largest producers of mining raw materials in Ukraine. The company specializes in the extraction and production of iron ore concentrate and pellets.
CGOK is a part of Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk) (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Group’s management company is Metinvest Holding LLC.
