The share of imported cheeses on the Ukrainian market in 2025 has grown from 38% to 45% and continues to increase. If the situation does not change, Ukrainian producers will have less than half of the market by March-April 2026, according to the Ukrainian Dairy Industry Association (UDIA).
“The current trend in the cheese market poses a threat to Ukraine’s food security and requires an immediate response from the government. If, for political reasons, anti-subsidy investigations against EU producers, primarily Poland, have no prospects, it is worth focusing on intensifying state support for Ukrainian producers,” said Arsen Didur, executive director of the UDAU.
The industry association noted that imports of rennet cheese to Ukraine last year increased by 13% compared to 2024, to 32.9 thousand tons, in particular, 15.8 thousand tons (+14%) of hard cheese were imported.
The SMU sent a proposal to the government to increase compensation under the National Cashback program for Ukrainian-produced cheese from 10% to 20%. At the same time, it is proposed to reduce or cancel compensation for other dairy products that do not face such fierce competition from imports.
As reported, Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev announced in January that in 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers would reduce funding for the National Cashback program. As of February 2026, the state budget allocates UAH 3 billion for this program, compared to UAH 5.7 billion a year ago. Therefore, the government plans to move to targeted support for critically important industries.
The Republic of Uzbekistan has been officially recognized by ASIA Records as the Asian country with the largest number of Islamic historical cities included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Representatives of the Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Malaysia took part in the award ceremony, which was held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
According to this recognition, the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and Shakhrisabz in Uzbekistan are Islamic historical cities officially recognized by UNESCO. This indicator confirms Uzbekistan’s status as one of the richest and most intact centers of Islamic civilization in Asia.
Located in the heart of the Great Silk Road, Uzbekistan has been a crossroads of culture, science, and spiritual traditions of the Islamic world for centuries. Its historic cities have preserved outstanding examples of Islamic architecture, urban planning, and scientific thought in their authentic environment to this day—mosques, madrasas, mausoleums, and entire urban ensembles. Of particular value is the comprehensive preservation of the historical environment, where the unique heritage is not a single monument, but the entire cityscape in its entirety.
Along with its architectural heritage, Uzbekistan remains an important center of pilgrimage and cultural tourism today. The Khast-Imam complex in Tashkent, the mausoleum of Imam al-Bukhari in Samarkand, the ensembles of Bahouddin Naqshband and Chashma Ayub in Bukhara, as well as the Islamic monuments of Termez continue to attract pilgrims and tourists from all over the world.
The ASIA Records award on the international stage is a recognition of Uzbekistan’s leadership in the preservation, development, and promotion of Islamic historical heritage, as well as confirmation of its universal value for all of humanity.
Reuters reported, citing an analytical note from JPMorgan Chase, that the bank expects gold prices to rise to $6,300 per ounce by the end of 2026, despite a sharp correction in the precious metals market.
According to the bank’s assessment, the key drivers will remain steady demand from central banks and investors, as well as the trend toward diversifying reserves in favor of real assets and reducing dependence on the US dollar. In particular,
JPMorgan Chase expects central bank gold purchases to total around 800 tons in 2026.
At the same time, gold fell 9.8% on January 30, the sharpest decline since 1983, and the decline intensified after the CME Group raised margin requirements in the spot market. On February 2, prices reportedly fell to $4,677.17 per ounce after hitting a record high of $5,594.82 last week.
Separately, Deutsche Bank AG confirmed its gold price forecast of $6,000 per ounce by the end of 2026, also linking growth potential to continued demand from the official sector and investors.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center presented an analysis of the world’s leading gold-producing countries in its video on YouTube channel — https://youtube.com/shorts/DWbzJ1e2tJc?si=BywddHO-JFWFqUFA
Agricultural LLC (STOV) “Ratnivsky Agrarian” (Ratne, Volyn region) intends to obtain a permit for pollutant emissions for a reconstructed livestock complex in the village of Yakushiv (Kovel district), according to the website of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
According to the official announcement, the project provides for the loose housing of cattle on deep litter in four cowsheds. Each of them is designed for 1,000 head, which will provide a total capacity of 4,000 head at a time.
It is expected that the complex will house 1,525 cows, 1,670 calves of various age groups, and 805 other cattle and bulls. During the warm season, the animals will be kept on pastures. The total time spent in the cowsheds will be no more than five months per year. Heat will be supplied to the cowsheds by a wood-fired boiler (200 kW). In addition, to ensure a reliable power supply, the complex is equipped with four diesel generators, each with a capacity of 50 kW.
The project has already undergone an environmental impact assessment (EIA), following which the Volyn Regional State Administration’s Department of Ecology and Natural Resources issued a positive conclusion at the end of December 2025. Since the capacity of the complex exceeds the threshold of 1,000 places for cattle, the facility falls under the second category of activities that may have a significant impact on the environment.
At the same time, calculations confirmed that there were no exceedances of the maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants, so no measures to forcibly reduce emissions are planned.
Ratnivsky Agrarian LLC was registered in 2011. It specializes in cattle breeding and fattening of breeding breeds using modern technologies.
According to data from the Opendatabot service, at the end of 2024, the company received income of UAH 259.1 million, net profit of UAH 17.53 million, has debt obligations of UAH 126.16 million, and assets are estimated at UAH 1.04 billion. According to the results of the first three quarters of 2025, its activities are characterized by further growth in assets: UAH 204.98 million in revenue, UAH 40.56 million in net profit, UAH 222.95 million in debt obligations, and assets increased to UAH 1.27 billion.
The authorized capital of STOV “Ratnivsky Agrarian” is UAH 48.144 million, and the ultimate beneficiary is Vita Shevchuk.
According to the Law “On Air Protection,” facilities are divided into three groups: the first includes enterprises that are required to implement the best available technologies (permission is issued by the Ministry of Economy); the second includes facilities on state registration, regulated at the OVA level; the third group includes entities with minimal impact. The EIA procedure is mandatory for livestock complexes with more than 1,000 head of cattle.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved the New Horizons technical cooperation program aimed at stimulating innovative investments in Ukraine’s agri-food system, the bank’s press service reported.
The project is expected to become a key tool for restoring the national economy and accelerating the European integration of agribusiness, the EBRD noted.
According to the project description, the program is focused on supporting businesses that implement advanced technologies in food production and agriculture.
The key areas of the New Horizons program are stimulating investment based on a combination of industry analytics and mapping opportunities for informed investment decisions; supporting high-potential segments by supporting areas such as alternative protein production and sustainable intensive agricultural production.
In addition, the project aims to establish international cooperation, in particular between Ukrainian businesses and leading international research and development (R&D) institutions, to strengthen innovation potential. It is expected that selected Ukrainian enterprises will be provided with audit and innovation screening services to identify opportunities for modernizing their business processes.
The program also includes a review of the Ukrainian agrotech sector’s compliance with EU requirements for food safety, sustainable development, and digital trade standards.
The research results and innovation opportunities will be presented to Ukrainian companies during a special knowledge-sharing event that will bring together technology developers, startups, and large agribusinesses.
The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Ukraine. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the bank has directed more than EUR 8.5 billion to the country to support energy security, critical infrastructure, food security, trade, and the private sector.
Central Asia attracted about 57% of all investments from Asia to the Eurasian region, with a total volume of US$68 billion. Uzbekistan became the main driver of growth in the region: over the past year and a half, the volume of investments from Asian countries has grown from US$11 billion to US$22.6 billion, accounting for about 62% of the total investment growth in Central Asia.
Despite the global downturn, the inflow of Asian investment into the Eurasian region in 2024–2025 reached almost US$20 billion. Almost half of this growth (US$9 billion) was provided by the Persian Gulf countries. The total volume of accumulated mutual investments reached a record US$176 billion by mid-2025.
The largest investments came from the United Arab Emirates ($16.1 billion), Saudi Arabia ($4.2 billion), Qatar ($2.4 billion), and Oman ($1.1 billion). Up to 96% of all investments from the Gulf countries are directed to Central Asia.
