In January-August 2024, Ukrainian seaports increased cargo transshipment by 1.7 times compared to the same period in 2023, up to 66.8 million tons of cargo.
“According to the operational data of the State Enterprise “Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority” (USPA), from January to August 2024, Ukrainian seaports handled 66.8 million tons of cargo. The figures are significantly higher than in the same period in 2023, when the volume of cargo handled amounted to 37.7 million tons,” the USPA reported on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
More than half of the volume of cargo handled, 41.7 million tons, was the products of the Ukrainian agricultural sector, the report said.
In August 2024, Ukrainian ports handled 6.8 million tons of cargo, more than double the results of August 2023, the USPA reported. Of this volume, 4 million tons were agricultural products that were supplied to foreign markets.
Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian ports handled 59.9 million tons in January-July this year.
The exports of soybeans from Ukraine in the season-2023/2024 reached the record level and amounted to about 3.26 mln tonnes, up 5% from the previous high of 3.1 mln tonnes in 2022/2023 MY, APK-Inform news agency reported.
“The increase in shipments was achieved due to several factors, including the significant increase of the crop harvest in 2023 and the competitive price of Ukrainian soybeans on the global market, particularly in the first half of 2023/24 MY. Thus, in September-February of the last season, the country shipped almost 70% of the total exports of soybeans,” the analysts said.
According to APK-Inform, in 2024/2025 MY Ukraine will export about 3.5 mln tonnes of soybeans, up 7% compared to the last season.
According to them, the increase in exports was mainly due to Egypt (2.1 times more), while shipments to the EU and Turkey decreased by 22% and 26%, respectively.
Experts predict that in the new season-2024/2025, Ukraine has a chance to update the record for soybean exports, given the forecast of an increase in the harvest of this crop to almost 6 million tons, which is 10% more than last year. At the same time, due to the expected increase in global soybean production, it will be harder to compete with prices in the new season, especially in such destinations as Egypt and Turkey.
According to the results of the season-2023/2024, the demand prices for Ukrainian soybeans decreased by an average of $120/ton in line with the global market dynamics and due to the increased competition. Comparing the price levels as of the end of August, this year Ukrainian soybeans of the new harvest are offered to Egypt at $427/ton CIF, while last year in the same period the supply prices on the same basis reached $545-550/ton.
In January-June 2024, “Insurance guarantees of Ukraine” PrJSC (SGU) collected UAH 1.4 million of gross premiums, which is 4 times more than a year earlier, according to the information of the rating agency “Expert Rating” on the confirmation of the insurer’s financial strength rating/credit rating on the national scale at the level of “uaAA” based on the results of work for 6 months. 2024.
At the same time, it is noted that in the first half of 2024, the volume of insurance payments and reimbursements made by the insurer amounted to UAH 0.1 million, and the level of payments increased to 7.11%.
The RA notes that during the reporting period, the company’s equity increased by 41.61% and amounted to UAH 54.87 million, mainly due to an increase in equity due to an increase in the amount of retained earnings in its structure as a result of profitable activities in the analyzed period.
During the same period, gross liabilities decreased by 94.53% to UAH 1.03 million. As of June 30, 2024, the amount of cash and cash equivalents on the accounts of “SGU” increased by 1.15% to UAH 47.55 million, the level of cash coverage of the insurer’s liabilities increased to 46.34%.
The company’s financial results improved significantly in the analyzed period. In particular, the insurer’s net profit for the first half of 2024 amounted to UAH 12.11 million, and operating profit – UAH 10.93 million, while in the same period of 2023, the company was unprofitable.
SGU was registered in November 2005. It has licenses for 15 types of insurance activities, including four for compulsory insurance and 11 for voluntary insurance.
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) suffered losses of UAH 600-700 million in July-August and expects a small loss in 2024, despite profitable operations in the first half of the year.
“For six months (of 2024 – IF-U), we did have a profit of up to UAH 3 billion, but in July and August we faced losses. In July, it was about UAH 600-700 million, and in August we also expect a loss of up to UAH 700 million… we do not yet have the volumes of profitable cargo that give us a margin of safety,” said Yevhen Lyashchenko, Chairman of the Board of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, at the Business Breakfast of Forbes Ukraine on Wednesday.
He expressed hope that the situation would improve as grain exports intensify after the harvesting campaign. However, this will not avoid a small loss for the year.
“I believe that if grain is exported and the volume of transportation is slightly leveled, we will make a small loss for the year, because in any case we are increasing the volume of transportation, but losses on some shipments are also increasing,” Lyashchenko said.
INGO Insurance Company (Kiev) has launched a new insurance product, specially designed to protect children from accidents, including coverage of consequences of military operations.
According to the insurer’s information, the policy is available for children from 1 to 17 years old. It covers risks of injuries, disability and even fatal accidents, with the possibility of receiving the sum insured from UAH 100 thousand.
The policy is valid on the territory of the whole world, except for zones of active hostilities and border territories with the aggressor country. Parents can choose when the insurance will be relevant: round the clock, during school or kindergarten or during sports and training.
INGO Insurance Company JSC has been providing insurance services for 30 years. Since 2017, the main shareholder is the Ukrainian business group DCH.
Centravis Production Ukraine, a part of Centravis Ltd. holding, has agreed to regularly supply seamless stainless steel pipes to Voss Fluid, a German company specializing in hydraulic connections.
According to a press release on Wednesday, Ukrainian seamless pipes are used to produce connections with a high degree of leakage protection even in the most difficult operating conditions, in particular, in projects using hydrogen and compressed natural gas.
It is explained that Voss Fluid has now developed and patented a special hydrogen hydraulic connection. Centravis mainly supplies pipes for such projects.
“We have a systematic cooperation, as our German colleagues need consistent quality and a reliable supplier. The annual supply volume is measured in tens of tons. We expect that the number of orders in this segment will grow over time, as hydrogen projects become more popular every year,” said Viktor Chernetskyi, Key Account Manager at Centravis.
It is worth reminding that Centravis, together with the French company Duncha France, has become a participant in a project to produce hydrogen-powered cars in the EU. For its implementation, Centravis has developed a line of high-precision seamless stainless steel pipes H2FIT. They will be installed in light trucks and will help comply with EU regulations under the zero-carbon initiative.
Earlier it was reported that in the first half of 2024, Centravis increased production by 9% to 6.88 thousand tons of seamless stainless steel pipes. In 2023, the company produced 12.2 thousand tons of such pipes. More than 99% of this volume was exported to 38 countries.
Germany, Italy and the United States are among the largest consumers of Ukrainian seamless pipes.
Founded in 2000, Centravis is one of the ten largest producers of seamless stainless steel pipes in the world. Its main production facilities are located in Nikopol (Dnipropetrovska oblast). In 2023, the company opened a branch in Uzhhorod.
Centravis Holding Ltd. was established on the basis of Nikopol Stainless Pipe Plant CJSC, service and trading companies of Production and Commercial Enterprise YUVIS LLC. Its shareholders are members of the Atanasov family. Centravis Ltd. owns 100% of the shares in Centravis Production Ukraine.
