USAID’s Agricultural and Rural Development Program will provide farmers with free sunflower seeds provided by Lidea Ukraine as part of the AGRI-Ukraine initiative, the donor organization’s press service reported on Facebook.
According to the report, the assistance will be offered to farmers who have previously applied through the State Agrarian Register (SAR) for corn seeds, but did not have enough sowing units of this crop.
The program is open to farmers in Dnipropetrovska, Kyivska, Sumska, Kharkivska and Chernihivska oblasts who cultivate between 5 and 500 hectares. Each farmer will be able to receive up to 40 sowing units of sunflower.
There is no need to submit a new application to the State Register, the organizers will contact those who have applied with the offer, USAID AGRO said.
It is expected that Lidea Ukraine will deliver 2858 sowing units of sunflower seeds to farmers from the regions most affected by the war. The delivery of the seeds will be organized by the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities as part of the United Communities project.
“Thanks to this initiative, farmers in the frontline and de-occupied regions will be able to grow and supply at least 24 thousand tons of sunflower to the market. According to preliminary forecasts, the harvest harvested from the donated seeds will bring farmers about UAH 360 million in revenue, which will help restore agricultural production in war-affected communities,” USAID AGRO said.
As reported, recently, as part of the USAID AGRI-Ukraine initiative, Lidea Ukraine has transferred 3362 sowing units of corn seeds to farmers in frontline communities. The application process was completed ahead of schedule due to high demand.
In January-April this year, Ukrainian enterprises reduced consumption of rolled metal products by 13.89% year-on-year to 1 million 6.6 thousand tons.
According to a press release from Ukrmetallurgprom, 351.6 thousand tons, or 34.93% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market, were imported during this period.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in January-April 2024, steel companies produced 1.973 million tonnes of rolled metal products (130.5% compared to the same period in 2023), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, about 1.318 million tonnes, or 66.8%, were exported. In January-April 2023, the share of exports amounted to 42.9% (634 thousand tons with a total production of 1.512 million tons of rolled steel).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries in January-April 2024 was 45.45%, which is significantly lower than in January-April 2023 (49.37%). The share of flat products in export deliveries in the first four months of 2024 is significantly higher than in January-April 2023 (40.36% and 28.86%, respectively). The share of long products is significantly lower than in January-April 2023 (14.19% in 2024 vs. 21.77% in 2023).
“In the first four months of 2024, the domestic market capacity amounted to 1 million 6.6 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 351.6 thousand tons, or 34.93%, were imported. In January-April 2023, the domestic market capacity amounted to 1.169 million tons, of which 291 thousand tons, or 24.89%, were imported. Thus, in the first four months of 2024, there was a decrease in the domestic market capacity by 13.89% compared to the first four months of 2023, with a simultaneous increase in the share of the import component by 10.04%,” the press release states.
The structure of imports for the first four months of 2024 is still characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (82.88% and 15.27%, respectively); in January-April 2023, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant (79.86% and 18.97%, respectively).
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled steel products in January-April were the European Union (81.6%), the rest of Europe (5.6%) and South America (4.5%).
Other European countries ranked first among metallurgical importers in the period under review (44.5%), followed by the EU-27 (37.9%) and Asia (16.7%).
As reported, Ukraine’s rolled metal market grew 2.19 times in 2023 compared to 2022, to 3 million 505.6 thousand tons. The company imported 1 million 118.6 thousand tons, or 31.91% of the domestic rolled steel consumption market.
In 2023, Ukrainian steelmakers produced 5.37 million tons of rolled metal products (100.4% compared to 2022), of which, according to the UAVtormet Expert and Scientific Council, about 2.99 million tons, or 55.6%, were exported.
In 2022, the share of exports amounted to 81.7% (4.37 million tons with a total production of 5.35 million tons of rolled metal products).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries in 2023 was 40.30%, which is significantly lower than in the same period in 2022 (43.45%). The share of flat products in exports for the year is also significantly higher than a year earlier (40.41% and 36.34%, respectively). At the same time, the share of long products is comparable to the figure for the previous similar reporting period (19.53% in 2023 vs. 20.21% in 2022).
In 2023, the domestic market capacity amounted to 3,505.6 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 1,118.6 thousand tons, or 31.91%, were imported. In 2022, the domestic market capacity amounted to 1598.6 thousand tons, of which 621.6 thousand tons, or 38.88%, were imported. Thus, in 2023, there was an increase in the domestic market capacity by 119.29% compared to 2022, while the share of the import component decreased by 6.98%.
The structure of imports last year was still characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (76.08% and 23.87%, respectively); in 2022, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant (68.69% and 30.41%, respectively).
According to UAVtormet, the main export markets for Ukrainian steel products in 2023 were the EU (82%) and the rest of Europe (7.5%).
Among metallurgical importers in 2023, the first place was occupied by other European countries (42.4%), the second by the EU-27 (37.3%), and the third by Asian countries (18.2%).
NNEGC Energoatom and Korean Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (HDEC) have signed a memorandum of cooperation on the design, construction and commissioning of new nuclear power units in Ukraine.
The relevant agreements were signed in Kyiv on Monday by Energoatom’s acting Chairman of the Board Petro Kotin and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Yong Choi in the presence of Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Ukraine Hyun Tae Kim.
At a briefing after the signing of the memorandum, the head of the Energy Ministry noted that this is the beginning of cooperation in the completion of new units and in general for the future, including joint work on new reactor models.
“But now we are talking about specific projects – those that we are currently implementing at the Khmelnytskyi NPP,” the minister added.
As Kotin noted at the briefing, South Korea has a very extensive nuclear industry and a great deal of expertise in it, so the issue of cooperation with Hyundai, which is a leader in this area, is very important for Energoatom.
He also noted that cooperation with this company has already begun, recalling that part of the equipment for KhNPP-5, for the purchase of which an agreement was signed with Westihghouse last year, was manufactured by Hyundai.
“Their support will be very important for us in the future, for the success of our nuclear projects. And we have a very big plan,” Kotin emphasized.
In its release following the meeting, the Ministry of Energy added that the document, in particular, provides for the assistance of Korean partners in the development of production facilities to localize equipment production in Ukraine.
Galushchenko also thanked the Republic of Korea for the assistance provided to the Ukrainian energy sector since the beginning of the full-scale war with Russia, in particular for 10 cargoes of humanitarian aid, including 20 backup power plants and mini-excavators.
At the same time, Hyun Tae Kim emphasized that the Korean side is outraged by the recent Russian attacks that have caused enormous damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. According to him, the government of the Republic of Korea is working to help the Ukrainian energy sector, in particular Kharkiv. At the end of last year, 60 diesel generators were transferred to Ukraine, and another 200 are planned for this year. Korea will also increase support for the Ukrainian energy sector through international organizations.
Hyun Tae Kim noted that the signing of the memorandum between Energoatom and Hyundai will contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Korean cooperation in the nuclear industry, in particular, the exchange of experience in nuclear technologies.
The Ministry of Energy also added that the memorandum of cooperation between the companies was developed in accordance with the agreements set forth in the letter of intent signed during the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris at the end of November 2023.
As reported, Ukraine has begun construction of KhNPP-5 infrastructure using the AR1000 technology of the American Westighouse. In addition, it is planned to build KhNPP-6 using this technology, as well as two units at the South Ukrainian NPP. In total, the parties agreed on 9 new units.
Estimated number of population in regions of Ukraine based on number of active mobile sim cards (mln)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The head of the Odessa regional military administration Oleg Kiper in August 2023 by his order strengthened customs control in the region when exporting agricultural products for export, at the same time on the market of export of agricultural products appeared about 40 companies with signs of fictitiousness, reported hromadske in the investigation “Grain Baron”.
The publication noted that through the ports of Odessa in 2023 passed 85 percent of the country’s agro-exports.
When analyzing the data of the Ukrainian customs, access to which is provided by the international service ImportGenius, journalists found 40 companies with signs of fictitiousness, which entered the agro export market after the Odessa OSA established “manual control” over it.
These companies started exporting grain after August 2023. They have never engaged in exports before, were founded or changed owners in 2023, are not part of well-known agroholdings and do not own land.
“The largest by export volume of these firms has the same phone number as another 139 legal entities. And in second place is a company whose founder is probably a psychologist from Uzbekistan, for whom 20 legal entities have been registered in Ukraine over the past two years,” the investigation said.
“Suspicious” companies for the last quarter of 2023 exported through the ports of the Odessa region about 800 thousand tons of agricultural products worth about $ 150 million, or 6 billion UAH, says the publication and recalls that the head of the Odessa Regional State Administration explained the establishment of manual control by the need to fight against one-day companies and so-called “black exports”.
Such one-day companies export grain and do not return foreign currency proceeds to the country, do not pay taxes, have a fake director and do not have an office. After several transactions with a budget of several million dollars, the company disappears.
The chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Union “Agrarnaya Rada” Dmytro Kohan drew attention to the fact that any manual control has increased risks of corruption.
The Odessa regional military administration refused to comment on the facts revealed by journalists.
Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk is on an official visit to Turkey on May 13-15.
According to the press service of the Ukrainian parliament’s apparatus, Stefanchuk will hold a number of bilateral meetings and negotiations in Ankara, including with the chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş.
During the meetings will touch upon the topics of realization of the Formula of Peace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the reconstruction of Ukraine, in particular, the involvement of Turkey in the reconstruction process.
“The purpose of the visit is to deepen strategic cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey, to expand interparliamentary cooperation, as well as to overcome the negative consequences of Russian aggression, which threatens stability and development in the Black Sea region”, – stated in the message of the press service.
