European and international financial institutions are ready to invest more than 10 billion euros in the development of the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said at a press conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenportal.com reported.
“The development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor is a major ongoing project. European and international financial institutions are ready to invest more than 10 billion euros in this project,” Kallas said during a press conference on the 20th European Union-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting held in Ashgabat on March 27.
Kallas emphasized the growing desire for cooperation between the EU and Central Asian countries.
The EU plans to expand cooperation in various areas, she said.
Kallas emphasized the development of youth exchanges and strengthening contacts in business and academia.
IC “Express Insurance” (Kiev) in January-February 2025 collected insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 181,6 mln, which is 48,4% more than in the same period of 2024, as reported on the insurer’s website.
The increase in insurance premiums has become possible due to significant growth of new clients and stable increase in the number of concluded contracts in comparison with the previous year.
Thus, premiums under CASCO contracts for this period amounted to UAH 119,1 mln, which is by UAH 21 mln or 21,4% higher than the same indicator of two months of 2024, under CMTPL insurance – UAH 56,9 mln (+ 2,8 times), under other types of insurance – UAH 5,6 mln.
As reported, in January-February 2025, the company made payments in the amount of UAH 67,2 mln.
IC “Express Insurance” was founded in 2008 and is a part of the group of companies “UkrAVTO”. It specializes on automobile insurance. Stable high speed of events settlement in IC is provided by optimal interaction with partner service stations.
Since April, 2012 IC “Express Insurance” is an associated member of the Motor Transport Insurance Bureau of Ukraine.
According to EastFruit analysts, a historic event took place in 2024: Ukraine, which practically did not export frozen raspberries ten years ago, for the first time became the world leader in terms of net exports of this berry, surpassing not only Poland but also Serbia, the long-time leader in this segment.
In 2024, according to trade statistics, Ukraine’s exports of frozen raspberries reached a record 65 thousand tons, showing a 34% increase over the year. This was a much faster increase than any other major exporter. In general, over the past three seasons, Ukraine’s exports of frozen raspberries have more than doubled, while Serbia has maintained its performance at the same level and Poland has reduced its exports by 24%.
It is worth noting that Ukraine imports only small volumes of raspberries, unlike Serbia and especially Poland, which actively purchase them abroad. In Polish exports, the share of imported raspberries already exceeds 52%, with the bulk of Poland’s purchases coming from Ukraine. In fact, almost half of the frozen raspberries exported by Poland are of Ukrainian origin. It is the affordable Ukrainian raspberries that allow this country to maintain its position among the world market leaders.
If we analyze net exports, Ukraine supplies 65 thousand tons of frozen raspberries to foreign markets, while Poland supplies only about 16 thousand tons. Thus, in 2024, Ukraine exported four times more frozen raspberries than Poland!
Interestingly, in terms of total exports of frozen raspberries, Ukraine is still slightly behind Serbia. In 2024, Serbia exported 67.7 thousand tons of raspberries, while Ukraine exported 65.1 thousand tons. However, Serbia imported 4.7 thousand tons for further re-export, which reduced its net exports to 63 thousand tons, which is 2 thousand tons less than Ukraine.
“The key step to consolidating Ukraine’s global leadership in frozen raspberry exports will be further diversification of sales markets. To do this, Ukrainian exporters need to improve the quality of raspberries and invest in their processing and marketing, which will help to increase the average export price. Higher export revenues could be used to improve products, increase their quality, and expand production. Currently, many Ukrainian producers of frozen berries export to Poland the raw materials that Polish processors sort, pack and re-export, leaving the added value in their country,” says Andriy Yarmak, economist at the FAO Investment Department.
The process of diversification of frozen raspberry exports from Ukraine is already underway. It is noteworthy that Poland played a significant role in this. Farmers’ protests against imports of raspberries and other agricultural products forced Ukrainian exporters to look for new markets, which turned out to be much more profitable than the Polish market. The additional income of Ukrainian raspberry producers was reinvested in expanding production and processing in Ukraine, which accelerated Ukraine’s ascent to the global raspberry export Olympus.
Between 2022 and 2024, Poland’s share of Ukrainian raspberry exports decreased from 63% to 35%. Instead, the share of Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, and France, key markets for Polish exporters, more than doubled to 48% of direct exports from Ukraine. Ukraine is actively gaining market share in Poland, which has been made possible by improving the quality of its products and the level of their processing.
Over the past three years, Ukraine’s exports of frozen raspberries to Germany have increased 4.5 times, to the Czech Republic 4.2 times, to Austria 33 times, and to France twice. In 2024, Ukraine also exported over 2,000 tons of raspberries to Belgium, Italy, and Lithuania for the first time.
In addition, Ukraine is rapidly increasing its exports of frozen raspberries to Canada and the United States, markets that offer much higher prices than the EU. Three years ago, Ukraine did not supply products to these countries, and now it often outperforms its Polish competitors in terms of exports.
Among the unusual export destinations for frozen raspberries, it is worth noting the first commercial deliveries of Ukrainian products to Argentina and Saudi Arabia.
Given the high prices for raspberries in the previous season, EastFruit analysts predict that in 2025 and in the 2025/26 season, Ukraine will update its raspberry export records and strengthen its leadership. In particular, already in 2025, Ukraine may overtake Serbia in terms of total exports of frozen raspberries.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasts a significant increase in the US national debt over the next 30 years. According to CBO’s forecast, the national debt will reach 100% of GDP in the current fiscal year and increase to a record 107% of GDP in fiscal year 2029. By 2025, the figure is expected to reach 156% of GDP.
“Rising public debt will slow economic growth, lead to higher interest payments to foreign debt holders, and pose significant risks to budget and economic projections,” the CBO said in its review.
Earlier this week, international rating agency Moody’s warned that import duties imposed by US President Donald Trump could prevent the country from getting its growing budget deficit under control.
The CBO expects the US budget deficit to increase to 7.3% of GDP by 2055 from 6.4% of GDP in 2024. The forecast for 2025 is 6.2% of GDP.
The CBO forecast assumes a slowdown in US economic growth this year to 2.1% from 2.8% in 2024. Earlier, Experts Club and Maksim Urakin released a video analysis of the state of debt in the world, see more details on the YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/gq7twYrWuqE
Concern-Electron JSC (Lviv) ended 2024 with a consolidated net profit of UAH 56.85 million, which is more than 3.3 times higher than in 2023, according to the concern’s financial statements.
According to the consolidated financial report for 2024 published on the concern’s website, revenue for the past year increased by 34.5% to UAH 749 million.
According to the draft decisions of the general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 28, the concern plans to allocate UAH 15 million to pay dividends at the rate of UAH 1 per share (par value UAH 3.5).
As reported in 2023, the company paid dividends to shareholders at the rate of UAH 0.5 per share, totaling UAH 8 million out of a net profit of almost UAH 17 million.
The shareholders plan, among other things, to re-elect Yuriy Bubes, President of Concern-Electron, for a new term.
As of the beginning of this year, Concern-Electron’s shareholders numbered 20,448 thousand people, with the following holders of more than 5% of shares: Yuriy Bubes, President and Chairman of the Board (5.6%), Serhiy Medvedev, Chairman of the Supervisory Board (5.05%), Victoria Starodub (11.5%) and Mykhailo Sholomytsky (6.43%).
Concern-Electron Group, in addition to the parent company, includes 12 assets, and employed 669 people at the beginning of 2024 (688 a year earlier). In particular, according to the report, the net profit of the parent company Concern-Electron JSC amounted to UAH 52.14 million (almost 4 times more) on revenue of UAH 0.38 million.
One of the main assets of the concern, vehicle manufacturer Zavod Elektronmash LLC, in which Concern-Electron JSC holds a 55% stake, showed an 87.7% increase in net income to UAH 244 million, and net profit amounted to UAH 0.06 million compared to UAH 0.9 million a year earlier.
Another major asset, Spheros-Electron Plant LLC, a manufacturer of heaters and heat exchangers for cars, in which the parent company holds an 80% stake, showed a 32.5% increase in net income to UAH 221.8 million. At the same time, net profit increased by 19% to UAH 29.6 million.
The group’s top three companies in terms of net income last year also included Innovative and Industrial Enterprise Electron, which leases equipment and vacant premises in office business centers, as well as production and warehouse facilities. The company increased its revenue by 12% to UAH 114.3 million, earning UAH 5.4 million in net profit.
Another major subsidiary, Polymer-Electron Plant (production of plastic and expanded polystyrene products), ended 2024 with a loss of UAH 1 million against a net profit of UAH 1.2 million in 2023, with revenue up 4% to UAH 83.5 million.
