Net sale of dollars by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) increased this week to $533.4m from $507.8m a week earlier, according to the regulator’s data.
According to them, the central bank sold $533.6m on the interbank market and bought back $0.15m.
The official hryvnia exchange rate weakened by 37 kopecks during the week, in particular, on Friday the national currency exchange rate fell by 17 kopecks to UAH 39.7206/$$. – to 39.7206 UAH/$1.
In the cash market, the dollar also rose in price during the week: by about 12 cents to UAH 39.95/$1. – up to UAH 39.95/$1, including on Friday – by 6 kopecks.
As evidenced by the data, which the NBU managed to publish for this period, from Monday to Wednesday, the negative balance between the volume of currency purchases and sales by the population increased from $30.2 million to $56.9 million.
Last Friday, May 3, the National Bank announced the largest package of easing of currency restrictions for businesses since the beginning of the full-scale war, which provides for the abolition of all currency restrictions on imports of works and services, provides the ability of businesses to repatriate “new” dividends, provides an opportunity to transfer funds abroad on leasing and rent.
In addition, the new steps of currency liberalization provide for the easing of restrictions in terms of repayment of new foreign loans and interest on “old” foreign loans, as well as easing restrictions for the transfer of foreign currency from representative offices in favor of their parent companies.
As reported, the NBU increased its net foreign exchange interventions on the interbank market in April by 27.7% to $2.283bn, compared to $1.370bn in the same period last year.
On April 24, Ukraine received the second tranche of transitional financing in the amount of EUR1.5 billion (UAH 63.32 billion in hryvnia equivalent) under the European Union’s Ukraine Facility instrument, and the country also received UAH 2.7 billion in grants from international partners last month.
Ukraine’s international reserves in April decreased by 3.1%, or $1.4 billion – to $42 billion 399.5 million. On April 25, the NBU raised their forecast for the end of this year to $43.4 billion from $40.4 billion and to $44.3 billion from $42.1 billion – at the end of next year.
Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko held a championship fight for the IBF lightweight world championship belt, during which he defeated Australian boxer George Kambosos, reports Suspilne. Sport” on Sunday, May 12.
The fight took place in the Australian city of Perth. It is emphasized that in the 11th round, Lomachenko defeated Cambosos ahead of schedule: first he knocked him down, and then another, after which the fight was over.
Lomachenko is a former lightweight world champion, as noted, the 36-year-old boxer had a second opportunity to regain the world title, which he lost in October 2020 when he lost to Teofimo Lopez (lost the WBA, WBC and WBO belts).
Lomachenko lost his first chance to win the championship belts in his last fight against Devin Gainey. The fight for the title of absolute world champion ended in defeat for the Ukrainian by a unanimous decision of the judges.
Ukrainians with residence and work permits will be able to stay in Germany despite the Ukrainian state’s desire to return citizens living abroad to participate in the war against Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a speech at an event of the RND newspaper group, according to Dw.
“The legal situation is such that residence here is not questioned. Employment also leads to security of residence,” he said.
The chancellor also called on Ukrainians in Germany to find employment.
“We hope that those who came from Ukraine will work as soon as they are able to work. It is worth saying that many are already doing so, but there are still several hundred thousand who are urgently needed in the labor market,” he emphasized.
Number of refugees from Ukraine in selected countries as of 31.03.2024
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The flow of grain ships through the ports of Odessa Region is bringing long-awaited support to Ukraine’s economy. However, analysts warn that this may be a temporary phenomenon.
“In early March in Odessa, a 700-foot Liberian-flagged vessel slowly sailed out of the port, passing rows of yellow cranes and plunging into the calm waters of the Black Sea. Its hull was almost completely submerged as the ship was loaded with corn bound for Bangladesh. Meanwhile, other ships laden with grain have already left port, bypassing those that were just arriving,” the New York Times reported.
What seemed impossible last summer, when the Russian naval blockade paralyzed all commercial activity, is now a reality. The port was back on track thanks to a military campaign that drove Russian warships out of Ukrainian waters and provided a trade route for supplies to foreign markets.
Ukrainian grain and oilseed exports across the sea, which are vital to the Ukrainian economy, have almost returned to prewar levels, according to data provided to the New York Times. Over the past six months, Ukraine exported 27.6 million tons of grain and oilseeds across the Black Sea, only 0.2 million tons less than the average volume for the same period from 2018 to 2021 before Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
In the first quarter of this year, Black Sea exports even exceeded pre-war figures, according to Ukrainian data.
Grain and oilseed export estimates from Dragon Capital, a Kiev-based investment firm, and data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a shipping analytics firm, confirm this trend.
Sal Gilberti, head of Teucrium Trading, a U.S. company that trades agricultural commodities on the New York Stock Exchange, said claims by Ukrainian officials that grain exports across the sea are close to prewar levels are “accurate.”
Ukraine still faces challenges that could prevent grain exports from stabilizing at previous levels, including continued Russian attacks on port infrastructure and a reduced harvest this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a decline in grain exports in the near future.
However, analysts say the overall environment is improving and freight companies are willing to transport Ukrainian grain despite the war. “The data shows there is no shortage of shipowners willing to take the risk and go for it,” said Greg Miller, senior maritime journalist at Lloyd’s List.
Maintaining high levels of grain exports is a strategic necessity for Ukraine. Grain and oilseeds accounted for a third of Ukrainian exports last year, said Natalia Spygotska, senior analyst at Dragon Capital. It has become critical to sustaining Ukraine’s economy and ultimately its war effort.
Tariel Khajishvili, head of Novik LLC, a Ukrainian ship agent operating in Odessa, said: “It is obvious that without grain exports, the country’s economy will collapse.”
After the invasion, Russia seized control of the Black Sea, blocking trade for months, jeopardizing global food security. In July 2022, a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey allowed Ukraine to resume exports through an agreed corridor in the Black Sea.
But a year later, Russia pulled out of the agreement and threatened all commercial ships traveling to or from Ukraine, leading to a complete halt to maritime grain exports last August.
To resume exports, the Ukrainian army launched a campaign to drive the Russian navy out of part of the Black Sea, destroying many warships and attacking their headquarters in Russia-occupied Crimea. The successful operation allowed Ukraine to create a new trade corridor along the coast that allows ships to enter the territorial waters of NATO countries.
Dmytro Barinov, deputy head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Administration, recalls how nervous they were when the first grain ship passed through the corridor in mid-September: “We prayed that everything would go well.
Eventually, the ship successfully sailed into the open sea, and soon the “familiar pleasant sounds” of the ship’s sirens were again heard in Odessa.
The number of grain ships arriving at the three ports of the Odessa region – Odessa, Pivdennyi and Chernomorsk – increased to 231 in March from just 5 in September, according to Lloyd’s List.
Ukraine’s ship insurance arrangements with global insurers also contributed to the increase. Mr. Gilberti of Teucrium Trading added that Moscow is also interested in keeping the fighting out of the Black Sea, as it is also used to export Russian goods.
Today, Ukraine can only use ports in the Odessa region for grain exports, as other seaports are either too close to Russian positions or occupied by Russian troops. Despite this, with 4.1 million tons of grain and oilseeds shipped monthly, these three ports are close to pre-war export volumes.
The opening of the Odessa ports brought welcome financial relief to Ukraine. Having lost key economic assets during the war, such as steel mills in the east seized or destroyed by Russia, Ukraine is now more dependent on grain exports to support the economy. Dragon Capital predicted in the fall that a return to full operation of Odessa ports could add several percentage points to Ukraine’s GDP growth this year, which was forecast at 4 percent.
However, analysts warn that the initial success of Ukraine’s new trade route may be short-lived.
Russia continues to strike port infrastructure in Odessa, and with Ukraine’s air defenses in short supply, more missiles are reaching their target. In mid-April, Russia successfully struck two terminals in Pivdenne, destroying several containers.
Dragon Capital’s Ms. Spygotska also noted that high volumes of recent grain exports partly reflect shipments delayed by the Russian blockade, which could make it difficult to achieve those volumes in the future, especially with grain production projected to decline.
“Producers and exporters are now well positioned to export all available crops,” she said. “But it all depends on the harvest.”
In January-March 2024, IMC Agro Holding posted a net loss of $3.81 million compared to $4.10 million in the same period of 2023, while its EBITDA increased 3.2 times to $4.43 million, according to the company’s report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
“The increase in normalized EBITDA in the first quarter of 2024, as well as the decrease in net loss for the period, was due to an increase in sales,” the company said.
According to the report, the holding’s revenue increased by 41% to $59.20 mln, while the share of exports decreased to 71.7% from 83.5% a year earlier.
The share of corn in the revenue decreased to 42.8% from 83.3%, while the share of wheat increased to 34.4% from 15.9%, and sunflower seeds to 22.3% from 0.3%.
IMC’s gross profit increased by 48% to $12.75 mln, and its operating loss decreased to $0.17 mln from $2.85 mln in the first quarter of 2023.
At the same time, due to the devaluation of the hryvnia in the first quarter of this year compared to its fixed exchange rate for the year, the company incurred a foreign exchange loss of $4.10 million, which resulted in the total loss of IMC for the reporting year increasing to $7.86 million from $4.08 million a year earlier.
Overall, the agroholding’s assets increased by 0.6% to $314.14 mln in the first quarter of 2024.
At the same time, the company increased its investments in the reporting period to $4.9 mln, while in the first quarter of last year there were practically none ($0.02 mln), while the outflow from financing activities decreased to $0.9 mln from $6.4 mln, and the inflow from operating activities amounted to $16.4 mln against an outflow of $1.9 mln in the same period last year.
As a result, free cash flows at the end of March increased to $26.0 million from $16.20 million at the beginning of the year, while bank debt remained virtually unchanged at $45.9 million.
“IMC is an integrated group of companies operating in Sumy, Poltava and Chernihiv regions (north and center of Ukraine) in the crop production, elevators and warehouses segments. The land bank is about 120 thousand hectares, storage capacity is 554 thousand tons with a harvest of 1.002 million tons in 2023.
In 2023, IMC posted a net loss of $21.03 million compared to $1.12 million a year earlier, and its EBITDA decreased 11.3 times to $3.22 million. The holding’s revenue increased by 22.3% to $139.45 million, while the share of exports decreased to 68% from 73% a year earlier.
