The direct losses of the Ukrainian agricultural sector in the two years since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion have exceeded $10 billion, so it is necessary to accelerate the pace of its recovery to ensure domestic and global food security, said Taras Vysotsky, Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, at the Forum for the Future of Agriculture.
He reminded that Ukraine is one of the world’s leading exporters of grains and oilseeds, and the restoration of the agricultural sector will ensure the stability of global food markets.
“Ukrainian farmers have suffered significant losses due to Russian aggression. From the destruction of agricultural machinery totaling $5.8 billion to the loss and destruction of livestock farms worth more than $250 million. And international food prices rose by about 35% in 2022. Only after new export routes were established did the situation stabilize. Therefore, support is needed to restore the Ukrainian agricultural sector,” the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy quoted him as saying.
The acting minister emphasized the need for long-term projects to support the Ukrainian agricultural sector. One of them is the Ukraine Facility, a financial support program for Ukraine from the European Union.
Vysotskyi emphasized that increasing the production of value-added products is a contribution to the energy security of Ukraine and the European Union. According to him, Ukraine has the potential to produce enough bioethanol and biomethane from various types of agricultural waste.
He also pointed out the need to introduce preferential insurance for agricultural producers.
Insurance group “TAS” (Kiev) for January-May 2024 paid out UAH 785,23 mln under the concluded insurance contracts – it is by 54,3% more than the amount of indemnities of the company for five months of the last year, as reported on the website of the insurer.
More than a quarter of the total volume of payments fell on CASCO – UAH 218,72 mln, which is 38% higher than the corresponding indicator for 5 months of the last year. 2023, 34,37% or UAH 269,89 mln fell on MTPL (+39,2%), 19,5% or UAH 154,6 mln – on “Green Card” (+75,2%).
Even more – in 2,3 times – payments under contracts of voluntary medical insurance have increased up to UAH 117,94 mln, that makes 15,02% of the total volume of indemnities paid by the company in the reporting period
For the first five months of 2024, TAS IG paid UAH 4,13 mln under property insurance contracts, and UAH 19,94 mln under other insurance contracts – by 54,6% more than in the past.
SG “TAS” was registered in 1998. It is a universal company offering its clients more than 80 types of insurance products on various types of voluntary and compulsory insurance. It has an extensive regional network: 28 regional directorates and branches and 450 sales offices throughout Ukraine.
The Supervisory Board of PJSC Insurance Company “Columnaid Ukraine” on June 18 terminated the powers of CEO Svyatoslav Yaroshevych, appointing him Acting Chairman of the Board, according to the company’s information posted in the system of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market.
The reason for this decision was the termination of the sole executive body “CEO” and the appointment of a collegial executive body “board of the company” in accordance with the new version of its charter.
It is emphasized that Yaroshevich is appointed acting pre-management until the National Bank approves his candidacy for the position of chairman of the board.
In addition, the NAB has appointed the head of underwriting department Oleksiy Pilipenko and financial director Yulia Aniskina as acting members of the Board, also before the approval of the NBU.
PJSC IC Colonnade Ukraine (until 2016 – PJSC with AI “QBE Ukraine”) was founded in 1998 as the first international insurer in the Ukrainian market.
As reported, the company Colonnade Finance SARL (Luxembourg) in November 2015 has concentrated 99,9833% of the authorized capital of the insurer. Earlier Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited entered into an agreement with QBE Management (Ireland) Limited and its Ukrainian partner on indirect acquisition of 100% of the Ukrainian IC through the companies Colonnade Finance SARL (Luxembourg), Fairfax Holdings Inc. (Connecticut, USA), Fairfax Financial (US) LLS (Delaware, USA).
Geographical structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade (exports) in Jan-Feb 2024, ths. USD
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Corteva Agriscience, an international agricultural research company, has provided soybean and sunflower seeds to Ukrainian farmers from eastern and southern Ukraine for the spring sowing campaign under a program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the company’s press service reports.
According to the report, under this program, small and medium-sized farms and agricultural producers in the frontline regions with land area of 10 to 500 hectares were eligible to apply for free seeds. FAO provided farmers from eastern and southern Ukraine with Corteva’s Pioneer® sunflower hybrids for sowing on 6,000 hectares.
“Working side by side with farmers, we see the extraordinary efforts they are making to continue sowing fields and contributing to the world’s food security during the third year of full-scale war. Therefore, it was an honor for Corteva to participate in the FAO project and supply farmers with Pioneer® sunflower seeds,” said Oleksandra Bilash, Head of Marketing at Corteva Agriscience in Ukraine.
The project of Corteva Agriscience and FAO was implemented jointly with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine with the financial support of the governments of Japan, Norway and Belgium.
Corteva recalled that in 2023, as part of a partnership program with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the company donated about 8 thousand sowing units of winter rape and 45 thousand sowing units of Pioneer® corn and sunflower seeds to small Ukrainian farmers from the affected areas.
Corteva Agriculture is a global agricultural company. It offers comprehensive solutions to maximize yields and profitability. It has more than 150 research facilities and more than 65 active ingredients in its portfolio.
The company’s presence in Ukraine includes the headquarters in Kyiv, a research center in Liubartsi village (Kyiv region) and a seed production complex in Stasi village (Poltava region).
In April 2022, the company decided to leave the Russian market due to the full-scale war against Ukraine unleashed by Russia.
The Ukrainian bakery chain Lviv Croissants has entered the Slovak market and opened its first outlet in Bratislava, the company’s website reports.
According to the report, the first Slovakian Lviv Croissants opened in the center of the Slovak capital, at 13 Hviezdoslavovo náměstí.
“This is the old town, so there are always a lot of locals and tourists here,” the company said.
Lviv Croissants is a Ukrainian international franchise restaurant chain founded in 2015. It specializes in making croissants and has 160 locations in Ukraine and 11 in Poland. The company intends to open a restaurant in the United States and is already in negotiations. It is part of the Fast Food Franchising Group.
Fast Food Franchising Group LLC was founded in 2015 in Lviv.
The company’s net loss in 2023 amounted to UAH 598.3 thousand compared to UAH 483 thousand of net profit a year earlier. Last year, the company’s revenue increased by 55.1% to UAH 6.939 million, its debt obligations increased 9.7 times to UAH 188.9 thousand, while its assets decreased by 19% to UAH 1.89 million.
The company’s beneficiaries are PE Firm Infobud, which owns 50% of the shares, Yevhen and Andriy Galitsky (20% each), and Yuriy Zagrodsky (10%).
