WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE expo is one of the most significant events in the wine and alcohol industry of Ukraine. It is a platform for establishing business relations between wine and alcoholic beverage producers, retailers, sommeliers, restaurateurs, importers and distributors from Ukraine and abroad. In just a few days, WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE will be held again at the Kyiv International Exhibition Center.
“Despite russian military in Ukraine, our business continues to work, and the national economy needs support. Interest in Ukrainian products and demand for them are growing both abroad and at the domestic market. We have just returned from ProWein international expo in Dusseldorf, where the national Wines of Ukraine stand was presented for the first time, and, in total, 12 Ukrainian wineries participated in the fair. It showed that our wines are successful all over the world, our export of this product is constantly growing, and our wines deserve the attention of both foreign and national consumers. We cannot waste time and opportunities, so we decided to hold our event this spring,” comments Viktoriya Agromakova, founder and organizer of WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE.
The list of participants of the Wine&Spirits Ukraine exhibition currently includes 36 companies, but it is constantly updated. This year, for obvious reasons, only companies from Ukraine are taking part in the expo, among them are large, medium and craft winemakers, alcohol and beer producers. For them, this is a great opportunity to find new contacts and sign contracts with national retail chains, retail stores and HoReCa. For buyers, there is an opportunity to expand the range of quality Ukrainian wines, beer and spirits.
For the first time, the combined stands of the Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Craft Distillers will be presented. 10 manufacturers will showcase their products at each stand.
You can learn more about the participants here.
Durig the expo, Ukraine Wine&Spirits Awards international tasting competition will traditionally take place. The competition is held with the support and participation of the Association of Sommeliers of Ukraine and the International Association of Sommeliers in accordance with the standards of the International Organization of Grapes and Wine, OIV. The jury of the competition this time includes well-known Ukrainian wine experts, sommeliers, as well as buyers of retail chains.
A long-time partner of WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE — the “UKRSADVYNPROM” union — will traditionally host the Wine&Spirits Congress at the exhibition. The head of the union, Volodymyr Pechko, emphasizes that this year the topic of the discussion panel is the issue of supporting the viticulture industry during war and post-war period. Participants of the discussion panel will learn more about potential and existing programs, projects and grants to support Ukrainian winegrowers and winemakers.
Whenl: March 30 from 12:00 to 14:00.
Where: pavilion 1A, conference hall #3.
During the expo, the Ukrainian Association of Craft Distillers will organize a round table on the topic of “Simplification of distillate production conditions for small producers”. The event will take place on March 30 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., pavilion 1A, conference hall #3.
It may also be interesting for industry representatives to visit the specialized events that will be held by WorldFood Ukraine. The organizers invite producers, associations, regional development agencies, advisory services, profile media and everyone who is interested in the development of partnerships and cooperation, to join the Round Table named “Partnerships in the food market: how to unite to develop?”
When: March 31, 11:00-13:00
Where: pavilion #1, entrance 1A, conference hall #3.
Specialists and market insiders, including Svitlana Tsybak, Head of the Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine, will discuss the opportunities and problems of uniting market players in the production, promotion, sales and export of food and beverages, as well as analyze successful national and international cases.
Registration of visitors online: https://wineandspirits.com.ua/visit/
More information about the events and participants of WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE can be found on Facebook and Instagram pages.
The population of EU countries will decrease by 6% by 2100, the EU statistical service Eurostat predicts. From January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2100, the number of residents in the EU will decrease by 27.3 million, to 420 million. At the same time in 2022, the population began to recover after a decline associated with the coronavirus.
According to preliminary data, 451 million people lived in the EU on January 1, 2023, compared to 443.2 million in 2021. Eurostat attributes the increase to the mass influx of Ukrainian refugees.
The maximum population – 453 million people – is expected in 2026.
In 2022-2100, the proportion of residents aged 0 to 19 years will decrease from 20% to 18%, and from 20 to 64 years – from 59% to 50%. The shares of residents aged 65-79 and older will increase from 15% to 17% and from 6% to 15%, respectively.
Preliminary data of the census for 2021 indicate an increase of the population compared to 2011 in 16 EU countries and a decrease – in 9. The most significant increase for 10 years showed Luxembourg (26%), Malta (24%) and Sweden (10%), reduction – Bulgaria (11%), Croatia (10%), Latvia (9%) and Lithuania (8%).
The leaders in the number of inhabitants in 2021 were Germany (83.2 million), France (67.9 million), Italy (59 million), Spain (47.4 million) and Poland (37 million).
ALC Insurance Company ARX Life (ARX Life, Kyiv) has collected UAH 266.3 mln of insurance premiums in 2022, which is 17.02% less than a year earlier, according to Standard-Rating RA website updated credit rating/rating of financial stability (reliability) of the insurer at the level uaAAA on the national scale. Credit-Rating notes that decrease of gross business of the company has been caused by Russian aggression, introduction of martial law, fall of business activity level in the country and is the general tendency in the insurance market of Ukraine.
The volume of payouts and indemnities, performed by the insurer in 2022, has grown by 2,57% in comparison with 2021 – up to UAH 50,294 mln. Therefore, the level of payments of the insurer has grown by 3,61 p.p. – up to 18,89%.
Acquisition expenses of the insurer have decreased by 19,42% down to UAH 151,264 mln in 2022.
According to the results of work for the year “IC “ARKS Life” has received a net profit of UAH 21,594 mln that is by 2,24% more than in the same period of 2021.
As of January 1, 2023 assets of the company have increased by 17.61% up to UAH 232,882 mln, shareholders’ equity – by 22.01% up to UAH 119,692 mln, liabilities – by 13.30% up to UAH 113,19 mln, cash and cash equivalents – in 2.58 times, up to UAH 66,205 mln.
Thus, as of the beginning of 2023, the company had a high level of capitalization (105,74%) and high level of liabilities coverage by monetary assets and their equivalents (58,49%).
At the same time, RA notes that as of January 1, 2023, the insurer carried out financial investments in the amount of UAH 144,893 mln consisting of government bonds (96,55%) and deposits in banks (3,45%).
ARX Life, like ARX, is a part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. ARX Life is among the top 10 companies in the life insurance market in Ukraine.
Google Corporation has doubled its funding for Ukrainian companies as part of its startup support fund in Ukraine in 2022, allocating $10 million, Michał Kramarz, head of Google for Startups, CEE, said at the Tech Emerging Europe Advocates Meeting 2023 conference in Warsaw.
“The Ukrainian startups supported by the fund received $10 million in funding during the war and were able to hire 216 additional employees during 2022. But what is also very important: they were able to grow revenue by 200% year over year, which means that even in difficult times, in times of war, in a situation that requires resilience, they were able to achieve incredible results,” he said.
Kramarz reminded that last March Google announced creation of a $5 million fund to support startups in Ukraine, which was supposed to give grants of up to $100 thousand without any participation in the companies’ capital. Selected startups could also count on mentoring from the corporation, product support and Cloud loans.
“We received 1.7 thousand applications from startups in Ukraine, of which 300 were selected. Of that number, in turn, we originally planned to select 50, but the startups were so good that we said: let’s at least try to support more,” he said.
Kramarz did not say exactly how many companies were chosen, but said it could not have been 100 or 200, because if that were the case, the financial support program for each company would have been very low.
The representative of the corporation also reported on the launch of an online training program from Google for people who lost their jobs because of the war, but who remained in Ukraine and were willing to work. In three weeks, 32,000 people have gone through the program, and 10% of them have received positive feedback.
Google also supports women with its Founders Fund, which aims to level the playing field for everyone.
In addition, 60 startup founders from Ukraine and Belarus are hosted by Startups Campus Google in Warsaw.
Kramarz said he hopes the ecosystems of Poland, Ukraine and Britain will work even more together after the war than they do now.
“We have amazing skills. We have wonderful people. Let’s try to work more closely,” he said.
From April 1, prescription drugs will be sold both electronically and with a paper prescription, but pharmacies have caused an uproar over fears that there will be no possibility to buy drugs without a prescription.
“Starting April 1, prescription drugs will also be available at the pharmacy with an electronic prescription. This will make the prescription process more simple and efficient. At the same time, paper prescriptions will remain valid in Ukraine at least until the end of martial law,” the Ministry of Health reported.
The ministry reminds that the sale of prescription drugs and previously was carried out by the doctor’s prescription, in fact added only the possibility to use an electronic prescription.
“The Ministry of Health is not expanding or changing the list of prescription drugs”, – stressed the Ministry of Health.
At the same time, there was a stir in pharmacies due to fears that medications that are traditionally widely used by Ukrainians will be available only with a prescription.
In social networks patients report that in pharmacies “there are huge lines”, “pharmacy websites do not work”, “pharmacists do not know anything”.
At the same time, patients report that the list of drugs, the supply of which from April 1 will be available only with a prescription, are also included, in particular, antibiotics, cardiovascular drugs and painkillers.
Interfax-Ukraine awaits comments from pharmacy chains.
The Ukrainian government in nine months since the start of grant programs to create gardens, berries and greenhouses sent 489.2 million UAH, the total area of plantations and structures amounted to 1 375.64 hectares, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy on Friday.
According to the agrarian ministry, the leaders under the program are hazelnut and walnut, which were planted 493.3 hectares, blueberry and blueberry – 350 hectares, as well as apple – 296.1 hectares.
According to the release, the most hazelnut will be planted in the Kiev region – 157.8 hectares and in Transcarpathia – 121.9 hectares. Lviv region is the leader in planting the blueberry – 73.5 hectares. Appleberry orchards will be planted in Transcarpathia – 97.4 hectares, in Vinnitsa region – 50 hectares and in Bukovyna – 41.8 hectares.
Under the terms of the program, the area of cultivated land for the development or establishment of a new orchard must be 1 to 25 hectares. For the development of greenhouses, grants are provided for the construction of a modular greenhouse with an approximate area of 0,4 ha to 2,4 ha according to the standard project. The main requirement of the program is job creation.
The grant program provides for co-financing: the participant provides 30% of his own funds, and 70% – the state. These funds can be used to pay for the costs included in the estimate, which the applicant must submit along with the application for participation in the competition.
