In 2025, KSG Agro will renew the pig population at its pig farm in Dnipro region by more than 3.5 thousand sows, with total investments in pig rejuvenation exceeding EUR1 million, the company’s press service reports.
“Rejuvenation of the pig population by replenishing sows is very important for us, as it allows us to significantly improve the quality characteristics of the herd. As a result, we will get better piglet health and improved taste characteristics of pork. In general, we expect to increase the efficiency of pig production by 15%,” explained Sergiy Kasyanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KSG Agro.
The process of reviewing proposals from international producers of various purebred pig genetics is currently underway, from which the most optimal parameters for the holding’s herd will be selected.
KSG Agro added that the total number of pigs in the holding is currently more than 60 thousand.
The vertically integrated KSG Agro holding is engaged in pig production, as well as the production, storage, processing, and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank in Dnipropetrovska and Khersonska oblasts is about 21 thousand hectares.
According to the agricultural holding, it is one of the top 5 pork producers in Ukraine. In 2023, it launched a “network-centric” strategy, which will move from developing a large location to a number of smaller pig farms located in different regions of Ukraine.
In January-September 2023, KSG Agro received $1,336 million in net profit, which is almost 14 times more than in the same period in 2022. Its EBITDA for the three quarters of this year increased by 67% to $4.5 million, and its profit from sales increased by 16% to $11.9 million.
In January-March 2024, KSG Agro agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 37% to $0.96 million, while revenue decreased by 2% to $5.02 million. Its EBITDA decreased by 2% to $1.83 million.
The German scaffolding systems manufacturer Layher will soon open a commercial site for renting scaffolding for Ukrainian customers and begin design preparations for full-scale production of equipment in the Chortkiv West industrial park (Ternopil region), according to Chortkiv Mayor Volodymyr Shmatko.
“Layher, a German company and world leader in the production of scaffolding systems, is entering Ukraine. Foreign investors have decided to start their operations in Ukraine from the city of Chortkiv,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
According to his information, Ivan Batryn, a resident of Chortkiv, became the company’s director of operations in Ukraine.
As reported, Chortkiv-West, registered in October 2019, was created on a land plot of 87.684 hectares, with a declared term of operation of 30 years.
The functional purpose of the park is metalworking and machine building, including the production of automotive components, electrical engineering and instrumentation, woodworking and furniture industry.
Up to 7,300 jobs can be created in the park.
According to opendatabot, LAYER Ukraine LLC was registered in Kyiv in early 2023, with the main activity being the production of building metal structures. The founder and 100% owner of the company is the Lithuanian company UAB Leyer Baltic.
LAYHER is a global leader in scaffolding for construction, public events, aviation and chemical industries, producing, among other things, facade and modular scaffolding, Keder XL temporary roofs, specialized stages and stands, and aluminum beams.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has strengthened the official hryvnia exchange rate against the U.S. dollar by 17 kopecks on Friday, after the official hryvnia exchange rate was raised by another 7 kopecks at the end of trading on Monday – to 41.5554 UAH/$1, according to the data on the regulator’s website.
The NBU set the reference rate at 41.5959 UAH/$1 at 12:00 p.m. Monday against 41.6644 UAH/$1 on Friday.
“The dollar exchange rate may fluctuate in the range of 41.8-42.5 UAH/$1. The NBU continues to actively restrain sharp fluctuations, as evidenced by the sale of currency from reserves, and large inflationary risks are not expected in the coming month,” analysts at currency exchange market operator KYT Group shared their expectations for the coming weeks in a February review.
However, among the current risks they name further growth of dollar rate in case of change of policy of the Federal Reserve System (FRS), or sharp fluctuations on external markets, as well as the probability of short-term “jumps” of the rate, as a response to any news about the delay of international aid.
Analysts expect a gradual weakening of the hryvnia to 44 UAH/$1 during the first half of the year, which may be due to increased import purchases in the spring, worsening inflation expectations, and as a consequence, an accelerated weakening of the national currency.
Among other factors of such a forecast is a greater demand for currency in Ukraine due to the expected transition of the Federal Reserve System to a softer interest rate policy. Additional risks, according to KYT Group experts, may be the deterioration of the economic situation, or a shortage of financial aid.
“If the current macroeconomic picture persists, the dollar exchange rate may reach UAH 45/$1 before the end of the year, although this scenario depends entirely on the success of the government’s economic policy and the stability and sufficiency of the inflow of external financing,” the analysts summarized.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers has set the annual average of the official exchange rate of the hryvnia to the U.S. dollar in the state budget of 2025 at the level of 45 UAH/$1.
In the 2024 budget, the government budgeted an annual average of 40.7 UAH/$1, and at the end of the year – 42.1 UAH/$1. The hryvnia weakened by 10.6%, or by UAH 4.02 to UAH 42.0390/$1 at the official exchange rate last year.
Ukraine’s international reserves as of February 1, 2025, according to preliminary data, amounted to $43 billion 3.1 million, in January they decreased by 1.8%, or $785 million, and net international reserves (NIR) – by $0.79 billion, or 2.7% – to $28.313 billion.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/news/projects/1047722.html
On February 10 this year, the first freight train was sent from China to Afghanistan via a new direct rail route connecting the two countries through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The train, carrying 55 containers of communication equipment manufactured by the Chinese telecommunications concern ZTE, departed from Chongqing’s Tuanjetsun station to Afghanistan’s Hairaton.
The train will cross the border at the Khorgos checkpoint in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and reach its destination in Khairaton via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The entire journey is expected to take 12-15 days. “By using the direct rail freight transportation scheme, transportation time will be reduced by 3-5 days compared to road transportation, and logistics costs are expected to be reduced by 15-20%. This will strengthen the safety and efficiency of transportation and supply of goods,” said Liu Jianfeng, a ZTE employee.
The opening of the direct freight route will further strengthen trade and economic cooperation and exchanges between Chongqing and Afghanistan, as well as with other Central Asian countries.
President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will visit Uzbekistan on April 3-4 to participate in the first EU-Central Asia Summit.
The summit will be chaired by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and will be attended by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
During the summit, the EU is expected to reaffirm its commitment to expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including transport and digital interconnectivity – within the region and with the EU, strategic raw materials, economy and security, and the transition to clean and efficient energy sources.
“The first EU-Central Asia Summit will strengthen our commitment to work together for peace, security and sustainable development, in full respect of international law,” said António Costa.
Prices for extra-virgin milk in Ukraine in January 2025 decreased by 8% to 18.5 UAH/kg compared to December 2024, according to the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine (UDEP).
Analysts noted that milk prices in January 2025 were 23% higher than in January 2024 and 33% higher than in June 2024.
At the same time, the growth rate of raw milk prices in Ukraine (in UAH) in the second half of 2014 was 2.3 times higher than in the EU (in EUR – 1.8 times). The average price in January 2025, expressed in EUR (for the domestic quality basis), amounted to almost EUR 42.7/100 kg – compared to EUR 45.7/100 kg in December 2024 and EUR 44.7 in November 2024.
“The price in EUR decreased by almost 7% compared to December 2024, and by 5.5% compared to November 2024. At the same time, the price increased by 34% compared to June 2024; by 18.5% compared to January 2024. The average price, expressed in euros and converted to the euro base, decreased to EUR47.3/100 kg in January 2024 – from almost EUR51/100 kg in December 2024,” the UMPA stated.
The experts drew attention to the fact that the ratio between the price levels in Ukraine and the EU/Poland in January 2024 was 87% to the EU average and 82.5% to the Polish average.
“The respective ratios have “rolled back” to the level of October 2024 – the competitiveness of domestic dairy products has increased in January 2025,” the industry association summarized.
