Belarus is introducing an individual licensing regime for a number of Ukrainian goods for six months, Deputy Economy Minister and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka has said.
“According to recent information, Belarus has introduced an individual licensing regime for the import of a number of Ukrainian goods: confectionery, chocolate, juice, beer, chipboard and fiberboard, wallpaper, toilet paper and packaging, bricks, ceramic tiles, glass ampoules, agricultural machinery for sowing, washing cars and furniture. This decision was approved by resolution of the Council of Ministers of Belarus No. 292 dated May 26,” the trade representative wrote on Facebook on Friday. He said that the decision will enter into force ten days after its publication and is designed for six months.
“Such actions are groundless and discriminatory. The individual licensing regime means manual control over the import of Ukrainian products to Belarus. The government is consulting with manufacturers to eliminate the negative consequences of the discriminatory actions of the Belarusian government,” Kachka said.
At the same time, the trade representative of Ukraine said that these actions of Belarus are related to trade restrictions introduced earlier.
“Everyone is asking not to tie all the events together,” Kachka wrote amid comments that such a decision by Belarus could be the answer to the ban on flights in its airspace of Belarusian airlines imposed by Ukraine.
According to him, this also applies to news about a possible interruption in the supply of A-95 gasoline to Ukraine from Belarus.
“News on gasoline, according to operational information, is associated with technological processes at the refinery of the Belarusian manufacturer and without long-term consequences for the import of gasoline from Belarus. The policy to diversify supplies will be strengthened. But do not panic now,” Kachka said.
An investment project for the construction of a soda ash plant in the suburbs of Kramatorsk (Donetsk region) involves investments in the amount of $575 million, head of the Donetsk regional state administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
“We are ready to offer, with ready-made conceptual design solutions, a project for the construction of a plant for the production of soda ash […] earlier there were plants in Sloviansk and Lysychansk (Luhansk region), but the capacities have been lost, and another such plant is in Krasnoperekopsk in Crimea,” Kyrylenko said at the forum “UkraineInvest Talks: Dnipro” on Thursday, May 27.
According to him, this plant will solve the problem of import substitution and will allow talking about export.
According to the presentation of the investment project, the construction of a plant with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year is designed for three years, it is planned to create about 2,000 jobs there. The area of the land plot is 50 hectares in the village of Raihorodok, stocks of raw materials will provide for 100 years of work. It is assumed that the implementation of the project will allow the supply of soda ash for export and will provide an inflow of foreign currency to Ukraine in the amount of at least EUR 75 million.
The head of the region also presented a project idea for the production of paper from chalk, a model of which was developed by the regional state administration. According to the presentation of the project, its cost is $10 million, the capacity is 9,000 tonnes of paper per year, the implementation period is ten months with the creation of 100 jobs.
According to the authors of the project, chalk paper can be 10-15% cheaper than traditional types of paper, it can decompose completely under the influence of sunlight within 6-18 months. The project is assessed as promising for a dry and ecologically loaded region with forest plantations and numerous chalk deposits.
Kyrylenko said that these projects are well developed and realistic.
Farmak pharmaceutical company (Kyiv) ranked fourth in the rating of companies in terms of sustainable development, according to a company’s press release.
According to the report, the rating was developed and conducted by experts of the Dengi and Korrespondent publications in partnership with the UN Global Compact Network Ukraine. In general, the rating includes 39 companies from various sectors of the economy, including the pharmaceutical company Darnitsa.
All rating participants were tested according to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria. The jury took into account the anti-corruption policies and practices of companies, the situation with gender balance in the top management bodies, the average level of wages excluding the top staff, a set of key social programs and the amount of their funding, as well as the amount of funding for energy modernization and the dynamics of reducing the carbon footprint.
“The rating methodology reflects the realities of the world economy and focuses on indicators that should be a priority for Ukrainian businesses. Development of legislation on non-financial activities would contribute to the growth of a culture of business sustainability and accelerate the economic transition of Ukraine in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals,” Partnership Manager at the UN Global Compact Network in Ukraine Alina Konovalchenko said.
“To assess the achievements in sustainable development, it is important to look not only at the company’s projects, but also at the context. That is, by what methods the company achieved results, whether the changes will be long-term and systemic, and how they will affect the stakeholders. Our position in the rating is a good confirmation that social responsibility is an integrated approach, from transparent financial reporting, fair tax payments and decent working conditions to environmental initiatives,” Executive Director of Farmak Volodymyr Kostiuk said, adding that Farmak is the first Ukrainian pharmaceutical company to join the UN Global Compact.
Farmak is the leader of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market, it produces medicines in all 14 therapeutic groups.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 28/05/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of May 28
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger agreed on the need to intensify bilateral cooperation.
“Today we have agreed on the need to intensify our bilateral cooperation. Holding the next fifth meeting of the Ukrainian-Slovak combined commission on economic, industrial, scientific and technical cooperation will be an important step in assessing the state of trade between our countries,” Shmyhal said at a joint briefing with Heger in Kyiv on Friday.
In addition, the parties agreed to maximize the use of the transit potential of the countries. Shmyhal also noted that the introduction of joint border and customs control at the border is important for both countries.
Among other things, the parties agreed that cooperation between countries in the field of employment and labor migration requires additional attention from governments.
