Geographic structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade in 2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Industrial production in Ukraine grew by 5.9% in 2023, while in 2022, according to updated data, the decline was 36.7%, the State Statistics Service (Ukrstat) reported.
According to the State Statistics Service, industrial production in Ukraine increased by 22.6% in December 2023 compared to December 2022, with growth of 19.3% in November and 16% in October.
The State Statistics Service reminds that last year, starting in March, industrial production grew: after a 51.2% jump in March, the recovery slowed to 18.2% in April, 17.9% in May, 13.7% in June, 13.8% in July, 15.5% in August, and 11.7% in September.
The statistics agency clarifies that the data exclude the temporarily occupied territories of the Russian Federation and some of the territories where military operations are ongoing.
Overall, production in the manufacturing industry increased by 12.3% last year.
The production of computers, electronic and optical products grew by 58.8%, rubber and plastic products by 20.7%, machine building by 16.7%, furniture by 16.6%, chemical industry by 15.5%, food industry by 15%, metallurgy by 8%, and woodworking by 3.5%.
The largest decline in the manufacturing industry was shown by the production of coke and refined products – 31.4%.
The statistics agency recorded a 2.3% decline in the supply of electricity, gas and steam in 2023, and a 2.2% decline in the mining industry.
Metal ore production fell the most – by 10.2%, coal – by 3.3%, while oil and gas production remained at the level of 2022.
In nominal terms, in 2023, Ukraine sold industrial products (goods and services) worth UAH 3271.43 billion, which is 16.4% more than in 2022 (UAH 2811.57 billion), including UAH 547.02 billion worth of exports.
The turnover of the extractive and processing industry in December 2023 increased by 26.3% compared to December 2022.
In the total sales of industrial products in 2023, the manufacturing industry accounted for the largest share (56%), electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (31.2%), mining and quarrying (11.7%), and water supply, sewerage and waste (1.1%).
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Portugal Luiz Montenegro have instructed to start working on a security agreement.
“I had a phone conversation with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Portugal Luiz Montenegro. I thanked him for his personal principled position in support of Ukraine and wished him fruitful work for the prosperity of Portugal,” Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.
“We discussed the implementation of previous defense agreements between our countries and instructed the teams to begin work on the preparation of a bilateral security agreement within the framework of the G7 declaration. We coordinated future joint contacts,” the president also wrote.
The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) has sold a complex of buildings of the Uman Correctional Colony for UAH 29 million at a privatization auction, which is 194 times higher than the starting price.
According to SPF Chairman Vitaliy Koval on Facebook, 42 companies and entrepreneurs participated in the auction. The starting price of the lot was UAH 149.4 thousand.
According to the results of the auction on the Prozorro.Sale website, the winner of the auction was Borys Pakholyuk. According to Clarity Project, he owns a number of agricultural enterprises and farms in Cherkasy and Odesa regions.
The lot includes a complex of non-residential buildings and structures with a total area of 3.1 thousand square meters and a land plot of 0.59 hectares. The property had not been used for more than 20 years.
Koval reminded that the Ministry of Justice transfers unused penitentiary institutions to the SPF for further privatization.
NPC Ukrenergo has announced a competition for the vacant position of a member of the Management Board, documents for which can be submitted by 18:00 on April 8, 2024.
According to the announcement on the company’s website, the main requirements are: higher education; at least five years of strategic and managerial leadership experience in international development, business development, operations and/or program management in large companies.
The candidate must also have a deep understanding of the national and European electricity markets, trends and prospects of the industry, and the specifics of the ENTSO-E transmission system operators.
In addition, a potential Board member should have competence in at least one of the following areas: business strategy and development, regulatory issues, legal support, finance and audit.
In case of equally developed skills, preference will be given to a candidate with experience at the executive level in the transmission system operators of ENTSO-E members.
As reported, the Board of Ukrenergo consists of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi (Chairman), Oleksii Brekht (Operation and Development of Grids), Serhii Halahan (IT) and Oleh Skrypnyk (Finance).
At the end of January 2024, Maryna Bezrukova, a former member of the NPC’s Management Board, became the head of the Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
At the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the Skeiron team, which specializes in laser scanning of cultural heritage, has created a 3D model of the caves located on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve.
According to the Ministry’s press service, the virtual model is freely available and will help restore the site in case of destruction and promote the history of Kyiv.
“The caves, from which monastic life began in the mid-11th century and the Kyiv Cave Monastery was founded, are located at a depth of 5 to 15 meters, and their total length is almost 900 meters. The creation of a virtual model of the caves is important for Ukraine, as it is a monument of architecture, archeology, history and culture, where the founder of the monastery, Anthony, is buried, and where the relics of 125 saints are kept, including Nestor the Chronicler, iconographer Alipius, doctor Agapit, Ilya Muromets, and others,” the statement reads.
The virtual model is available on the Sketchfab platform here: https://sketchfab.com/skeiron/collections/kyiv-pechersk-lavra-4dbc5ba8c94d4c509f28a0e22c432003.
