Geographical structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade (surplus) in Jan-June 2024, thousand USD
Open4Business.com.ua
In January-June, cargo transportation in Ukraine increased by 18.6% year-on-year to 178.8 million tons, according to the State Statistics Service.
According to the agency, cargo turnover in January-June increased by 19% to 94347.1 million tons per kilometer.
At the same time, the number of passengers transported in the first half of the year increased by 13.5% to 1.07 billion people.
Passenger turnover increased by 17.2% to 20887 million passenger-kilometers.
The data exclude the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and part of the territories where military operations are (were) conducted.
As of 8:00 a.m. on September 28, the level of air pollution in Kyiv is very low, and the radiation background throughout the city is normal, according to the Department of Environmental Protection and Climate Change Adaptation of the Kyiv City State Administration.
According to the KCSA website, a total air quality index of 20 to 36 (very low level of pollution) was recorded at seven stationary air monitoring stations in different districts of the Ukrainian capital. The radiation background is 0.1 μSv/hour.
The harvest of corn, according to preliminary estimates of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, in 2024 will be 25 million tons, sunflower – 12 million tons, soybeans – 5 million tons, said Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaly Koval in an interview with Forbes Ukraina.
“Ukraine did not receive about 2% of early grains compared to last year’s harvest. This group did not suffer as much as late crops. Soybeans, buckwheat, corn and sunflower suffered the most. They have a shortfall of about 10-15% depending on the region. However, this is not critical for the food security of the country,” he said.
Koval expressed confidence that in the new season the structure of crops will not change globally compared to last year. At the same time, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy has concerns about winter rape: there is not enough moisture to sow it.
“In total, about 5 million hectares of winter crops will be sown,” summarized the Minister of Agrarian Policy.
The volume of completed construction works in Ukraine in January-June 2024 increased by 50.2% compared to the same period of 2023 – up to UAH 82.4 billion, according to the data of the State Statistics Service. In June-2024, the index of construction products exceeded the index of June-2023 by 13.8%, and the previous month – by 88.3%, notes the State Statistics Service.
According to the State Statistics Service, in January-June 2024 to the same period in 2023, the growth of construction was observed in all segments. Thus, in residential construction growth amounted to 27.9% (up to UAH 11.7 billion), in non-residential – 44% (up to UAH 20.9 billion), in engineering – 59.8% (up to UAH 49.6 billion). Construction output indices for the above categories in the first half of the year amounted to 116.8%, 131.6% and 146.1%, respectively.
According to the seasonally adjusted data of the department, the indices of construction products in June-2024 in residential construction amounted to 43.2%, in non-residential construction – 98.4%, in engineering – 124.1%, and taking into account the effect of calendar days, the indicators are 43.8%, 93.9% and 100%, respectively.
The share of new construction to the total volume of completed construction works in the first half of the year amounted to 43.7%, repair – 29.4%, reconstruction and technical re-equipment – 26.9%.
The State Statistics Committee notes that the publication of data was postponed due to martial law. Statdata indicators are given without taking into account the temporarily occupied territory and part of the territory where hostilities are (were) conducted.
“In 2024, the Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has contracted more than 400,000 UAVs of all types – with few exceptions, these are all Ukrainian-made drones, said Maryna Bezrukova, director of the Defense Procurement Agency.
“In 2024, we have already contracted more than 400 thousand UAVs of all types. From small FPVs to diplomatic strikes that hit targets deep behind enemy lines. With few exceptions, these are all Ukrainian-made drones. In the last two weeks alone, we have signed 21 contracts for drones worth more than UAH 3 billion,” she wrote on Facebook.
At the same time, Bezrukova explained that since the Defense Ministry is an agency of the Defense Ministry, this imposes certain specifics.
“We can only contract weapons that are on the list compiled by the General Staff and approved by the Ministry of Defense. The list is a small and highest-priority part of the large need collected from the military, for which funding is provided. Because the budget is really limited,” she said.
The director also reminded that the Defense Industry can only contract weapons that have received NATO codification and only those manufacturers that have confirmed their production capabilities to the military missions of the Ministry of Defense.
According to her, the Defense Industry is in constant contact with manufacturers, receives feedback and initiates changes that simplify the work and reduce the time to contracting. In particular, Bezrukova noted that the inspection by military missions has already been significantly simplified. The director emphasized that there is “still a lot of room to make the UAV contracting procedure, as provided for by the Ministry of Defense’s regulatory framework, simpler and more transparent.”
“Unfortunately, the opponents of the Agency’s work are now doing everything possible to destroy our reputation. For example, they are pouring money into spreading the news that the Agency has purchased a specific UAV at inflated prices. Although in fact we did not contract it at all. All this is a sign that we are on the right track. And we will be happy to go through it together with the manufacturers,” she emphasized.
