During one year of operation in Ukraine, IKEA has processed more than 148,000 orders in an online store and more than 8,000 orders in a bricks-and-mortar store in Kyiv, the press service of the company has told Interfax-Ukraine.
As reported in its press release, IKEA began entering the country’s market on May 14, 2020 with the launch of an online store. As of the end of April 2021, more than 2.528 million Ukrainians have already visited the company’s website.
The first bricks-and-mortar store of the urban format was opened on February 1, 2021 in Kyiv’s Blockbuster Mall. During the first months, it received over 397,000 visitors.
“I want to emphasize that the Ukrainian market is very important for IKEA. We strive to expand our activities on it, offering a wide range of functional products with attractive designs and prices for as many Ukrainians as possible,” the press service said, citing IKEA Market Leader in Ukraine Florian Mellet.
According to the press service, now IKEA in Ukraine offers about 5,000 affordable goods and solutions for home in all categories and styles of its assortment.
The most popular items in the online store are PARKLA storage boxes, SPRUTTIG hangers and ISTAD sealed bags. At the same time, SPRUTTIG hangers, OFTAST plates (white, 25 cm) and BERGENES bamboo stands for a mobile phone/tablet are most often bought in the IKEA bricks-and-mortar store.
In May 2020, the official launch of the IKEA online store in Ukraine took place in parallel with pick-up points in the Kyiv shopping centers Auchan Rive Gauche and Metro Cash & Carry. In December 2020, the third pick-up point was opened at the Lavina Mall.
The Kyiv office of Baker McKenzie provided legal support for the opening of an IKEA bricks-and-mortar store in Kyiv.
DYNAMICS OF CHANGES IN POPULATION OF UKRAINE FROM 1991-2021
The Ministry of Health, together with the State Service for Medicines and Drug Control, have developed a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on the introduction of electronic trade in medicines, Deputy Health Minister Ihor Ivaschenko said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
“The Ministry of Health, together with the State Medicines Service, developed and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers a draft resolution on amending the licensing conditions for the implementation of economic activities for the production, import, wholesale and retail trade of medicines, as well as their delivery to the end consumer. This is the so-called introduction of electronic trading in medicines and their delivery to patients,” he said.
Ivaschenko also said that the draft resolution provides for the possibility of entities that carry out retail trade in pharmaceuticals to carry out electronic trade in pharmaceuticals and ensure their delivery to end consumers.
“The draft resolution itself provides for the establishment of appropriate requirements for licensees, which, first of all, will relate to the availability of pharmacies, appropriate premises for the implementation of electronic commerce, the availability of material and technical equipment for transportation and delivery, or the possibility of concluding agreements with postal operators for the implementation of such transportation,” the deputy minister said.
“The draft resolution details the requirements for the website on which orders can be made, as well as requirements for persons who will accept and form orders. Additionally, it sets requirements for the delivery of medicines and the possibility of consulting patients,” Ivaschenko said.
The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine has established rules for labeling meat, olive oil and honey in accordance with EU legislation, regulating the procedure for entering data on the country and place of origin on the packaging of products, the department said on the website on Monday.
According to resolution No. 679 dated April 1, 2021 promulgated by the department, the marking is established for fresh, chilled and frozen poultry meat, cattle, pork, lamb and goat meat, by-products of cattle and poultry, honey, virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil.
The document prescribes the indication on the packaging of meat and its products of the following information: country (countries) of origin, fattening, slaughter of animals; a number or code for reference providing a link between the meat and the animal (group of animals) from which the meat was obtained; registration number and country of location of the abattoir; registration number and country of the meat stripping and deboning capacity.
Labeling refers to products manufactured in Ukraine or imported (sent) into the customs territory of Ukraine, at all stages of their sale. The document does not apply to products intended for personal consumption.
The resolution comes into force from the day of its official publication and is put into effect three years from the date of its entry into force.
The document specifies that products made before the entry into force of this resolution, but do not meet its requirements, may be in circulation until the end date of consumption or expiration date.
“The resolution was drafted on the basis of the requirements of the EU acts and is another step towards our European integration, as well as the creation of a common food market with the European Union. As a result of the adoption of the resolution, consumers will receive more detailed information about the country or place of origin of food products. This will also allow to reduce opportunities for counterfeiting and falsification of food products,” Deputy Economy Minister Serhiy Hluschenko said.
Astarta agricultural holding started to produce sugar at Yareskivsky sugar plant (Yaresky village, Poltava region) from sugar imported under the tariff quota [which is 260,000 tonnes in 2021], the company said on the website.
According to the agricultural holding, it has contracted 60,000 tonnes of raw materials for processing over the next three months.
Astarta said that in 2021 there is an unstable situation in the sugar market caused by the rise in world prices for raw materials, in particular, for sugar, as well as the uncertainty of market participants in a sufficient amount of sugar in the internal market.
The company said, due to the processing of sugar from imported sugar cane, it intends to create a reserve volume of sugar to ensure food security and stabilize sugar prices in Ukraine.
According to Astarta, such a step will help the agricultural holding to prevent the occurrence of force majeure, as it was in September 2020, when there was a temporary deficit due to the exhaustion of sugar trade reserves in Ukraine. The market was also affected by the delayed start of the new sugar-making season due to unfavorable weather conditions, the lowest sugar beet yield in the last few years (42.5 tonnes per hectare and its sugar content (16.14%)). All these factors contributed to the rise in prices and led to the fact that the AMCU started to investigate the situation on the sugar market.
The agricultural holding said that it considers it inexpedient to import raw cane sugar in the 2021/2022 marketing year (September-August), since Ukrainian producers are able to fully provide the internal market with their own high-quality sugar from Ukrainian raw materials.
“The business philosophy of Astarta is based on the company’s constant presence in the market of goods and uniform sales of sugar throughout the year. Consumers and buyers are in the center of our attention. The company’s task is to ensure sustainable cooperation and supply of products exactly when they need it,” Director General of the company Viktor Ivanchyk said.
The Ministry of Health continues working on the National Drug Policy Strategy and will soon submit it to the central authorities for approval, Deputy Health Minister Ihor Ivaschenko said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
“The Ministry of Health continues working on the National Drug Policy Strategy until 2030. The Strategy provides for the continuation of the actions that were in the strategy until 2020 and are aimed at reducing the demand for psychoactive substances, reducing the illicit trafficking of psychoactive substances, drugs, precursors, etc,” he said.
According to Ivaschenko, within the framework of the strategy, four strategic goals were formulated:
– promoting a healthy lifestyle, promoting public health and reducing the demand for psychoactive substances;
– reduction of illegal traffic and seizure of psychoactive substances;
– providing the population with the necessary narcotic drugs;
– development of preventive, diagnostic, medical and socio-psychological institutions to support patients with mental disorders or behavioral disorders due to the use of psychoactive substances.
