Ukraine as of August 22, 2018, threshed 34.2 million tonnes of early grain and leguminous crops from 9.8 million hectares (100% of the areas under the crops) with a yield of 3.47 tonnes per hectare, Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said on its website.
According to the Ministry, last year the harvest of early grains stood at 37.3 million tonnes gathered from 9.6 million hectares.
This year, Ukrainian farmers harvested 24.4 million tonnes of winter wheat from 6.4 million hectares (100% of the plan) with a yield of 3.81 tonnes per hectare and 0.66 million tonnes of spring wheat from 0.19 million hectares (95%) with a yield of 3.53 tonnes per hectare.
The total yield of winter barley was 3.1 million tonnes harvested from 0.87 million hectares (100% of the plan) with a crop yield of 3.53 tonnes per hectare, the total yield of spring barley was 4.4 million tonnes harvested from 1.6 million hectares (99%) with a crop yield of 2.75 tonnes per hectare.
A total of 388,000 tonnes of rye was harvested from 146,000 hectares (99% of the plan) with a yield of 2.65 tonnes per hectare, 434,000 tonnes of oat from 187,000 hectares (95%) with a yield of 2.32 tonnes per hectare, and 799,000 tonnes of peas from 430,000 hectares (99%) with a yield of 1.86 tonnes per hectare.
Farmers have just started to harvest buckwheat and millet. As of August 22, the total yield of buckwheat was 5,700 tonnes from 4,800 hectares (4% to the plan) with a crop yield of 1.18 tonnes per hectare and the total yield of millet was 3,600 tonnes from 2,000 hectares (4%) with a yield of 1.82 tonnes per hectare.
The ministry also briefed on the rapeseed harvesting campaign: 2.6 million tonnes of winter rapeseeds have also been harvested this year from 969,200 hectares (100% of the plan) with a yield of 2.65 tonnes per hectare and 94,700 tonnes of spring rapeseeds from 47,000 hectares (72%) with a yield of 2.01 tonnes per hectare.
Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) plans to increase the share of export revenues in total sales to 70% in future from 55% in the first half of 2018.
“We intend to increase exports … After the launch of all capacities, exports could reach 70%. This is the prospect for the next three years,” Viktoria Kapeliushna, the company’s finance director, told Interfax-Ukraine, noting that MHP exports not only chicken, but also grain and vegetable oil.
In addition, she confirmed the interest of MHP in purchasing new assets in other countries and reported the agricultural holding is considering several proposals.
Commenting on the impact of the external situation on the company’s plans, she noted the risk of expanding trade wars between the countries.
“The situation with the Turkish lira has not affected Ukraine so far. But we cannot say there won’t be influence at all, it depends on what will happen to other emerging markets. At present, it’s worth being more afraid of trade wars between the countries. This factor can indeed significantly affect the markets,” Kapeliushna believes.
Speaking about expectations for the near future, the financial director of MHP reported that the agroholding maintains its forecast for the growth of EBITDA in 2018 compared to 2017 by 5%, to $490 million.
A European Vega light launch vehicle, which has a Ukrainian-made engine, has successfully put the European Space Agency’s Earth Explorer Aeolus satellite into orbit.
The Vega rocket lifted away at 00:20 Kyiv time on August 23 from the Guiana Space Centre to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, France (South America), the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) said on its website. It was the twelfth launch under the Vega program and the first one this year.
Built by the European concern Airbus, the Aeolus satellite weighs 1.35 tonnes and is designed for long-range wind-mapping, it will probe the atmosphere with pioneering ultraviolet laser pulses. It is the first satellite that is able to measure wind speeds, using a laser technology for creating dynamic 3D maps of the earth’s surface winds. Aeolus is equipped with a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) instrument called Aladin, which uses the Doppler effect for determining wind speeds at various altitudes. The satellite is to provide reliable information about global wind conditions. The information is necessary for meteorologists to make better forecasts and for climatologists to enhance the understanding of tropical dynamics and processes relevant to climate variability. The satellite will operate for three years.
The Vega launch vehicle was developed by ESA together the Italian Space Agency (ASI). It is designed to launch small payloads. The launcher is capable of delivering a reference payload mass of up to 1,500 kg into a circular sun-synchronous orbit of 700 km altitude.
The RD-848P engine for the fourth stage of the rocket was developed by Ukraine’s state-owned Pivdenne Design Bureau (Dnipro) and manufactured by Dnipro-based state-owned Pivdenmash. The first successful launch was in February 2012. From May 2013, ESA began using a new launch vehicle on a commercial basis.
In July 2017, Ukrainian participants in the Vega program extended the contract signed in 2012 with the European subcontractor, Avio SpA, for deliveries of engines for the Vega launch vehicle through 2020.
Ukraine’s government and ESA signed a cooperation agreement concerning space cooperation for peaceful purposes in 2008. Some 17 European countries are ESA members.
Ukraine is currently preparing to create an information hub in accordance with a contract signed in May 2018 with the EU on cooperation in the Copernicus Earth observation program.
EARTH EXPLORER AEOLUS, ESA'S, ORBIT, SATELLITE, UKRAINIAN ENGINE, VEGA
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine has recognized match poker as a sport in Ukraine.
According to Ministry of Youth and Sports order No. 3780 of August 16, which was made available to Interfax-Ukraine, “match poker” is recognized as a sport in Ukraine.
The respective point was entrusted to be included section II of the register of recognized sports in Ukraine, approved by the ministry’s order No. 639 of March 11, 2015.
The United States intends to provide Ukraine with $78 million in additional international technical assistance, reads a statement posted the website of Ukraine’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT).
“The Cabinet of Ministers on August 22 approved the signing of additional agreements to the September 14, 2014 agreement on the fulfillment of a task in the sphere of development between the governments of Ukraine and the United States of America on improving transparency of governance and stable economic development. The respective orders were prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in connection with the intentions of the U.S. government to provide additional funds for the implementation of the goals envisaged by the agreement,” the report says.
In particular, the U.S. government intends to allocate $54.4 million in additional international technical assistance to ensure the accessibility of investment activities to the middle class in Ukraine, strengthen the potential of the private sector of the economy and improve energy efficiency and energy security, the ministry said.
“Thus, the total amount of technical assistance for these goals under the agreement, taking into account additional funds, will exceed $139 million,” the ministry added.
According to the report, the signing of additional agreements also provides for the provision of $23.6 million for governance reform. In particular, this includes bringing Ukrainian legislation into line with European standards, improving the functions of public oversight, as well as increasing the level of government accountability. For these purposes, the total amount of technical assistance, taking into account additional funds, will be $62 million, the press release reads.
Ukraine’s railways operator Ukrzaliznytsia in January-August 2018 (as of August 23) bought 2,287 freight cars, including 450 from third-party manufacturers, the company’s press service reported citing Finance and Economics Director Andriy Riazantsev.
“Ukrzaliznytsia’s investment in rolling stock upgrades is ahead of the company’s income. This year we have already spent UAH 1.5 billion more in investment than the sum of total deductions from freight transportation tariffs to our investment account,” he said.
In general, since early 2018, Ukrzaliznytsia has already purchased 2,287 freight cars, of which 1,837 wagons built on the company’s own production facilities.
According to Riazantsev, 20% of over 27,000 open-top wagons forming the company’s working rolling stock is high-quality equipment.
At the same time, the company says Ukrzaliznytsia’s rolling stock in the Ukrainian market of transportation by rail accounts for only 40% of the total stock available.
As reported, Ukrzaliznytsia in the six months of 2018 built 1,740 freight cars, or more than 34% of the total number of all built in this period in Ukraine.
In 2017, it bought 2,721 freight cars, including 2,606 built at the company’s own production facilities.
