Retail trade turnover in Ukraine in January-March 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 decreased by 9.1% to 390.1 billion UAH, the State Statistics Service (Derzhstat) said on Tuesday.
According to the State Statistics Service, at the same time in March this year there was a 35.5% increase in retail turnover compared to March last year, while in February the decline was 22.6%.
State Statistics Committee specifies that retail trade turnover (legal entities) in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022 decreased by 11.2%, amounting to 262.7 billion UAH.
This figure increased by 35.4% in March 2023 compared to March 2022, while in February the decline was 25.2%.
Gosstat reminds that the data are given without taking into account the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea, Sevastopol, part of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
As reported, in 2022 the retail turnover in Ukraine fell by 21.4%.
More than 150 farmers blocked a road in the village of Elżbieta in Poland’s Lublin Voivodeship demanding a ban on imports of Ukrainian raspberries due to lower purchase prices at Polish fruit and vegetable freezing companies, SadyOgrody reports.
Polish farmers consider the prices offered by processing companies to be too low, and intensive imports of raspberries from Ukraine further worsen the situation on the Polish domestic market.
According to the Polish newspaper, the first strike by berry growers took place last Monday. During a larger protest on June 27, about 150 raspberry growers blocked traffic at the Elżbieta roundabout in Lublin Oblast. The organizers hope that the number of participants will increase with each subsequent protest.
“In the coming days, the producers are planning further actions against too low raspberry prices. Tomorrow there will be another protest in Annopol. The producers intend to block the entrances to processing plants to block the delivery of Ukrainian raspberries there,” the publication notes.
As reported, on June 16, the Association of Gardeners of the Republic of Poland sent a letter to the Minister of Agriculture of Poland Robert Telusz with a request to take urgent measures to stop the import of strawberries from Ukraine, limit it and then completely stop it.
The business association insisted on the introduction of a system of official quality control of each batch of fruits and berries entering the country, especially for plant protection products (PPPs) residues, and also proposed to suspend further trade in the product until the results of the examination are received.
Liquidity of banking system of Ukraine, bln UAH
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Ukrainian online cab service Uklon has announced the entry into the market of Uzbekistan, will begin its work in the country from the capital city of Tashkent, the press service of Uklon said on Thursday.
The company told the agency that it plans to begin providing services in the new market as early as the end of June.
According to the release, Uklon will provide solutions for online booking of cars in Uzbekistan, including Uklon App – an application for passengers and Uklon Driver App – an application for drivers. The company will also provide delivery service.
It is specified that entering the market of Tashkent is an important step in the strategy of expansion of the Ukrainian IT-company.
Uklon – Ukrainian IT-product company, the developer of the eponymous online service call for cars. For 13 years of work Uklon has significantly expanded its geographical coverage in Ukraine and today works in 27 cities of the country and mobile application Uklon downloaded more than 12 million times.
As reported on May 3 this year Uklon announced the entry into the market of Azerbaijan.
Twelve communities in the Kyiv region are conducting technical design and procurement of contractor services for critical infrastructure rehabilitation projects supported by the European Union and Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO).
“In December 2022, the European Union and NEFCO announced cooperation to reconstruct and repair critical municipal infrastructure in Ukraine. Currently, the first activities are underway in all 12 communities: technical design and procurement of contractor services by the communities with the support of NEFCO. Several tenders are under evaluation, and the first construction work is expected to begin soon,” NEFCO said in a Tuesday news release.
According to the report, EUR50 million has been allocated for the reconstruction program. The funds are allocated to restore and repair infrastructure in the Kyiv region’s heavily war-affected communities: Borodyanka, Borshchagivka, Dymere, Dmytrivka, Gostomel, Irpen, Ivankiv, Kalynivka, Nemeshayiv, Peskivka, Slovutych and Velyka Dymerka.
The works include repair and modernization of heating systems, wastewater treatment systems, and repair of water supply systems. It is expected that 245 thousand Ukrainians will feel the effect of the projects.
“We have already started preparatory work in all the selected communities and aim not only to repair, but also to improve municipal service delivery systems and introduce more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions. Construction work on the first projects is in the early stages,” NEFCO Senior Advisor and Program Coordinator Ronnie Nilsson was quoted as saying in a press release.
In addition to NEFCO, the organization’s partners, CES-Clean Energy Solutions together with iC Consulenten, and the Urban Technology Alliance (UTA) are providing technical assistance for the projects to the municipalities.
NEFCO is an international financial institution which finances the expansion of Nordic green solutions into world markets. It was founded in 1990 by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In Ukraine, projects have been implemented in over 100 municipalities.
NEFCO currently manages five other EU-funded programs in Ukraine, in addition to a critical infrastructure rehabilitation project. They concern the modernization of water supply systems, the introduction of energy efficiency measures in public buildings and street lighting networks, and the construction, repair, and reconstruction of public buildings to house internally displaced persons.
The U.S. dollar is getting cheaper against the euro and the pound sterling in trading on Tuesday, stable against the yen.
The ICE-calculated index, which shows the dollar’s movement against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, pound sterling and Swedish krona), is losing 0.24%; the broader WSJ Dollar Index is down 0.21%.
The euro to dollar was up 0.4% to $1.0954 as of 3 p.m., compared with $1.0909 at the close of the previous session.
The euro was supported on Tuesday by statements from European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, who made it clear that the regulator is unlikely to end its monetary tightening cycle anytime soon.
“It is unlikely that in the near future we will be able to state with absolute certainty that rates have peaked,” Lagarde said during an ECB forum in Sintra on Tuesday.
According to Lagarde, the effects of the 400 basis points (bps) rate hike since last July have not yet fully materialized.
“However, our work is not over yet. If the economic outlook does not change significantly, we will continue to raise rates in July,” Lagarde said in a statement posted on the ECB’s website.
The pound rose in trading to $1.2732 from $1.2714 the day before.
The dollar-yen exchange rate is 143.52 yen against 143.5 yen at Monday’s market close.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Tuesday called the sharp weakening of the yen seen in recent weeks “one-sided and precipitous” and said the government would “take the necessary measures” in case of excessive fluctuations.
The dollar-yuan exchange rate fell during trading to 7.2099 yuan from 7.2376 yuan the day before. Investors reacted positively to the statement of Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of China, that the authorities still expect to achieve the goal of 5% growth of Chinese GDP in the current year and are ready to take stimulating measures.
