As of April 25, Ukraine planted 2.546 thousand hectares with spring grains and legumes, up 1.9 times year-on-year, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported on Friday.
According to the report, 223.3 thousand hectares were planted with wheat (204.7 thousand hectares a week earlier), 761.5 thousand hectares with barley (741.5 thousand hectares), 159.2 thousand hectares with peas (157 thousand hectares), and 146.6 thousand hectares with oats (136.6 thousand hectares).
Last week, the agrarians sowed 492.9 thou hectares of grains and pulses. A week earlier, this figure was 792.6 thou hectares, and 408.6 thou hectares the week before.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, Kyiv region is the leader in terms of sowing, having planted 27.7 thou hectares of wheat, 40.6 thou hectares of barley, 5.1 thou hectares of peas and 4.3 thou hectares of oats; Dnipropetrovs’k region – 21.1 thou hectares of wheat, 49.9 thou hectares of barley, 14.07 thou hectares of peas, 0.7 thou hectares of oats. hectares of peas, 0.9 thousand hectares of oats; Ternopil – 18.9 thousand hectares of wheat, 63.6 thousand hectares of barley, 3.6 thousand hectares of peas, 0.9 thousand hectares of oats; Ternopil – 18.9 thousand hectares of wheat, 63.6 thousand hectares of barley, 3.6 thousand hectares of peas, 0.9 thousand hectares of oats; Ternopil – 18.9 thousand hectares of wheat, 3.6 thousand hectares of barley, 0.9 thousand hectares of peas, 0.9 thousand hectares of oats; Ternopil – 18.9 thousand hectares of barley, 0.9 thousand hectares of peas, 0.9 thousand hectares of oats. hectares of wheat, 3.6 thousand hectares of barley, 3.6 thousand hectares of peas and 5.1 thousand hectares of oats; Khmelnytsky – 14.8 thousand hectares of wheat, 59.1 thousand hectares of barley, 2.6 thousand hectares of peas and 2.5 thousand hectares of oats; Zhytomyr – 14.7 thousand hectares of wheat, 17.5 thousand hectares of barley, 2.6 thousand hectares of peas and 2.5 thousand hectares of oats. Zhytomyr region – 14.7 thou hectares of wheat, 17.5 thou hectares of barley. hectares of wheat, 17.5 thou hectares of barley, 2.85 thou hectares of peas and 21.1 thou hectares of oats; Vinnytsia region – 11.5 thou hectares of wheat, 55 thou hectares of barley, 6 thou hectares of peas and 1.1 thou hectares of oats.
Sunflower was planted on 1,996.9 thou hectares, soybeans – 208.6 thou hectares, sugar beets – 238.7 thou hectares. Agrarians in Vinnytsia, Poltava, Khmelnytsky, Bukovyna and Chernihiv regions have completed sowing sugar beet.
According to the April forecast of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in 2024, gross production of grains and oilseeds in the country is expected to reach 74 million tons, including about 52.4 million tons of grains and 21.7 million tons of oilseeds.
In 2024, farmers will be able to harvest 19.2 million tons of wheat (22.2 million tons in 2023), 4.9 million tons of barley (5.7 million tons), 26.7 million tons of corn (30.5 million tons), 5.2 million tons of soybeans (4.7 million tons), 12.4 million tons of sunflower (12.9 million tons), and 4.1 million tons of rapeseed (4.7 million tons).
In 2024, the planted areas of grains and pulses are forecasted at 10.6 mln ha, which is 395 thou ha lower than in 2023.
Short-term rain and thunderstorms are expected in some places in the eastern, Dnipropetrovs’k, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions and Crimea on Sunday, April 28, while the rest of Ukraine will be without precipitation.
According to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, the wind will be northeast, southeast in the western regions, 5-10 m/s.
The temperature at night will be 3-8° Celsius, in the southern and eastern regions 9-14°, during the day 16-21, in the east up to 25; in the Carpathians at night 0-5° Celsius, during the day 10-15°.
No precipitation in Kyiv on April 28. Northeast wind, 5-10 m/s. Temperature at night 6-8°, during the day 18-20°.
According to the Borys Sreznevsky Central Geophysical Observatory, on April 28, the highest daytime temperature in Kyiv was recorded at 28.9° Celsius in 2012, and the lowest nighttime temperature was recorded at 1.0° Celsius in 1902.
On Monday, April 29, there will be no precipitation in Ukraine, only in the southern regions there will be short-term rains, with thunderstorms in the afternoon. The wind will be northeast, southeast in the west of the country, 5-10 m / s, in the southern regions gusts of 15-18 m / s in some places.
The temperature at night will be 5-10°, in the south and east of the country 9-14°; during the day 16-21°, in the southeastern part 13-18°.
No precipitation in Kyiv on April 29. Northeast wind, 5-10 m/s. Temperature at night 8-10°, during the day 19-21°.
The Danish government and parliament have agreed to increase military support for Ukraine by another DKK 4.4 billion (EUR 590 million) this year, the press service of the Danish Ministry of Defense reports.
“Today, the Danish government and the Socialist People’s Party, the Danish Democrats, the Liberal Alliance, the Conservative People’s Party, the Social Liberal Party and the Danish People’s Party have agreed to increase the framework of military support for Ukraine by another DKK 4.4 billion in 2024,” the statement said on Thursday.
Defense Minister Trolls Lund Pulsen noted that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Denmark has been one of the most active donor countries.
“We must continue in the same spirit, so I am pleased that a broad majority of parties in the Danish parliament support the addition of an additional DKK 4.4 billion to the Military Support Fund for Ukraine in 2024. It is extremely important to show Ukrainians that we support them in this serious situation,” he emphasized.
The Ministry notes that most of the funds already allocated for military support in 2024 have already been used. However, the Danish government and parliament agreed on the need for further military support for Ukraine this year, so it was decided to increase it.
“The purpose of military support under the Fund for Ukraine in 2023-2028 will continue to be to provide direct military support to Ukraine in the form of weapons, other military equipment and training efforts. This includes the purchase of equipment, weapons, etc. from Danish and foreign defense companies for transfer to Ukraine, as well as financial donations and cooperation with other countries to support Ukraine,” the statement said.
In addition, representatives of the Danish government and parliament agreed that the possibility of direct purchases from the Ukrainian defense industry can be realized if the necessary control mechanisms are in place.
In total, the total amount of military support under the Ukraine Fund, taking into account its increase, will amount to DKK 64.8 billion (EUR 8.7 billion) in 2023-2028.
The plants of nitrogen holding Ostchem produced 520.6 thousand tons of mineral fertilizers in the first quarter of 2024, which is only 1% more than in the first quarter of 2023 (515.5 thousand tons), the holding said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The growth in production of the Ukrainian chemical industry has stopped due to the uncontrolled growth in fertilizer imports from Poland, as well as Russia-friendly Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan,” the company said.
According to the company, in the first quarter of 2024, fertilizer imports increased by 35% to 701.2 thousand tons.
It is specified that Cherkasy Azot produced 404.3 thousand tons in January-March this year, while Rivne Azot produced 128 thousand tons of fertilizers.
According to the report, the production structure remains fairly stable: ammonium nitrate is the leader (246 thousand tons produced), followed by urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) (123.8 thousand tons) and urea (123.5 thousand tons). Production of limestone-ammonium nitrate (LAM) increased slightly year-on-year to 15.8 thousand tons, and ammonia to 9.08 thousand tons.
Ostchem noted that it met its obligations in full during the spring sowing season, but in 2024 the negative industry trend intensified, with fertilizer imports significantly exceeding domestic production.
“In the first quarter of 2024, imports amounted to 701.2 thsd tonnes, exceeding domestic production by 35%. Imports continue to kill domestic production: four fertilizer producers have already been shut down – OPP, Dniproazot, Rivneazot and Sumykhimprom,” commented Oleg Arestarkhov, Head of Corporate Communications at Group DF.
It is noted that Ukrainian producers continue to lose ground in the Ukrainian market in most fertilizer segments, except for UAN.
“First of all, Ukrainian chemical plants are dramatically losing the urea market: in the first quarter, Ukraine produced 123.5 thousand tons of urea, while imports amounted to 181 thousand tons. 88% of all imported urea came from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, countries friendly to Russia,” Arestarkhov added.
According to him, Poland is also strengthening its position as the largest importer of fertilizers to Ukraine, as it is currently flooded with cheap Russian and Belarusian fertilizers that are not subject to EU sanctions, which is why all the excess fertilizers from the Polish market are being redirected to Ukraine.
According to Ostchem, in 2023, Poland imported 1.016 million tons of urea, of which urea from Russia accounted for 34% (345 thousand tons). At the same time, in the first quarter of 2024, Poland has already become the undisputed leader among importers of such fertilizers as ammonium nitrate (52 thousand tons out of 109.7 thousand tons of total imports), ammonium sulfate nitrate (7.9 thousand tons out of 9.4 thousand tons), UAN (17.4 thousand tons), and NPK (63.2 thousand tons out of 144.3 thousand tons) in the Ukrainian market.
In the first quarter, Ukraine imported 121.9 thousand tons of sulphate (China is the leader with 75.3 thousand tons) and 74.6 thousand tons of superphosphate (Bulgaria – 37.3 thousand tons and Greece – 27.4 thousand tons),
“Unfortunately, behind the loud slogans of Ukrainian government officials within the Buy Ukrainian campaign, there are no practical steps to reduce imports and protect the Ukrainian fertilizer producer,” Arestarkhov emphasized, recalling the specific proposals of the Ukrainian Chemists Union to protect the domestic market that were submitted to the government.
Ostchem is the nitrogen holding of Dmitry Firtash’s Group DF, which unites the largest mineral fertilizer producers in Ukraine. Since 2011, it has included Rivne Azot and Cherkasy Azot, as well as Severodonetsk Azot and Stirol, which are out of operation and located in the occupied territories.
Cherkasy Azot PrJSC (Cherkasy, Ukraine) is one of the largest Ukrainian chemical companies. Its design production capacity is 962.7 thousand tons per year of ammonia, 970 thousand tons per year of ammonium nitrate, 891.6 thousand tons of urea, and 1 million tons per year of UAN.
Rivne Azot is one of the largest Ukrainian chemical companies in Western Ukraine. On April 12, 2024, Group DF and South Korean Hyundai Engineering signed an agreement to build a chemical hub in Rivne. The project envisages the construction of green ammonia and hydrogen plants based on renewable energy sources; new enterprises and production sites for nitrogen fertilizers and chemical derivatives.
Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Defense of Australia Richard Marles announced another package of military aid to Ukraine from Australia in 100 million dollars.
“Australia will stay with Ukraine for as long as it takes for Ukraine to win this war. To that end, we are today announcing the next $100 million dollar aid package to Ukraine. 50 million of this will be for short-range air defense systems. Another 30 million will be for drones, as Australia is part of a drone coalition with the UK and Latvia. The remainder of the amount will be used to purchase support equipment, from inflatable boats to helmets and boots,” Marles told a joint briefing with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal in Lviv on Saturday.
He also added that Australia had been able to provide Ukraine with air-to-ground munitions.
“We understand that this conflict will be very long and we will provide more in the future because we are determined to stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary,” the minister stressed.
As Shmygal wrote in Telegram, in total, Australia’s support for Ukraine already amounts to more than $655 million, of which $540 million is specifically military aid.
“We very much appreciate such solidarity of the Australian people with Ukraine. Thank you Mr. Richard Marles for deep involvement in Ukrainian affairs, for effective solidarity, for the concrete things that Australia is doing for Ukraine,” wrote Shmygal.
Datagroup-Volya, one of the largest fixed-line telecommunications and digital services operators, has decided to invest about UAH 100 million in replacing fixed-line Internet technologies with GPON in Kharkiv, CEO Mykhailo Shelemba said on Tuesday at an event dedicated to the participation of Ukrainian companies in the development of the UN Global Compact network in Ukraine.
“Initially, Kharkiv was in the second stage of the plan to replace fixed Internet networks and develop GPON. An additional budget has been allocated to implement the tasks,” said Shelemba.
The CEO of Datagroup-Volya said that by the end of 2024, 40-50 thousand subscribers will be transferred to GPON.
“We will do our best. Kharkiv is a big city, we have an extensive network there, but we will throw all our resources at it and do everything possible to ensure that as many Kharkiv residents as possible have access to fixed-line internet with energy-efficient GPON technology by winter. The work in Kharkiv will continue in winter,” Shelemba assured.
According to him, subscribers will be transferred to GPON free of charge, but the work requires a visit of a technician to replace the equipment on the client’s side.
Vinnytsia, part of Kyiv and most of Lviv are also in the first phase of Datagroup-Vola’s network replacement plan, Shelemba said.
Earlier it was reported that Datagroup-Volya plans to invest UAH 1.5 billion in GPON development over three years.
