In January-March this year, Ukrainian companies increased imports of copper and copper products by 47.4% in value terms compared to the same period last year, to $42.018 million.
According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, exports of copper and copper products decreased by 16.9% to $18.138 million over the period.
In March, the country imported copper worth $12.893 million and exported it worth $7.242 million.
In addition, in January-March 2024, Ukraine increased imports of nickel and nickel products by 2.4 times compared to the same period in 2023, to $7.697 million (in March – $2.267 million), aluminum and aluminum products by 20%, to $98.535 million (in March – $38.102 million). At the same time, the country increased imports of lead and lead products by 30.1% to $281 thousand (in March – $140 thousand), imports of tin and tin products decreased by 4.3% to $620 thousand (in March – $113 thousand), and increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 55.6% to $11,860 (in March – $5,454 million).
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in the first three months of 2024 increased by 1.2% compared to the same period a year earlier to $23.387 million (in March – $7.769 million), lead and lead products decreased by 36.1% to $2.834 million (in March – $1.076 million), nickel and nickel products amounted to $94 thousand (in March – $45 thousand), while in January-March 2023 it was $92 thousand.
Zinc exports for the first three months of this year amounted to $44 thousand (in March – $24 thousand), while in January-March 2023 it amounted to $46 thousand. Exports of tin and products amounted to $81 thousand (in March – $47 thousand) against $48 thousand in the same period a year earlier.
As reported, in 2023, Ukraine increased imports of copper and copper products by 2.2 times compared to 2022 – up to $140.795 million, while exports decreased by 20.1% to $72.078 million.
In addition, in 2023, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and products by 74.2% compared to 2022, to $15.391 million, and increased imports of aluminum and aluminum products by 7.7%, to $366.463 million.
At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 65.2% to $989 thousand, imports of tin and tin products by 23% to $2.728 million, but increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 18.8% to $45.966 million.
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products last year increased by 0.7% compared to 2022 to $97.616 million, lead and lead products increased by 23.5% to $14.778 million, and nickel and nickel products amounted to $532 thousand, while in 2022 it was $1.268 million.
In 2023, the company exported $130 thousand worth of zinc, compared to $1.331 million in 2022. Exports of tin and tin products amounted to $159 thousand against $424 thousand in 2022.
In 2022, Ukrainian enterprises reduced imports of copper and copper products in value terms by 64.3% compared to the previous year to $65.370 million, while their exports decreased by 56.3% to $90.245 million.
In addition, in 2022, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and nickel products by 49.9% compared to 2021, to $59.754 million, and aluminum and aluminum products by 33.4%, to $340.398 million. At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 66.6%, to $2.839 million.
Imports of tin and tin products fell by 33.5% to $3.312 million, and imports of zinc and zinc products decreased by 58.7% to $38.690 million.
In 2022, exports of aluminum and aluminum products decreased by 42.7% compared to 2021, to $96.972 million, lead and lead products – by 68.7%, to $11.970 million, and nickel and nickel products – by 73.9%, to $1.268 million.
Zinc exports in 2022 amounted to $1.331 million, while in 2021 they amounted to $550 thousand. Exports of tin and products in 2022 amounted to $424 thousand, compared to $346 thousand in the previous year.
Initial registrations of new buses (including minibuses) in Ukraine in March 2024 decreased by 17%, or 16 units, compared to March last year, to 78 units, according to statistics released by Ukravtoprom.
At the same time, the demand for buses decreased by 27.8%, or 30 vehicles, compared to February 2014.
According to the statistics, the Ukrainian Ataman retained its leadership in the market with 21 buses registered compared to 37 in March 2013. Etalon buses took the second place, with registrations increasing to 20 vehicles compared to seven in March 2023. But compared to February this year, their sales fell by a third.
Ford took third place, as it did a year earlier, with 19 buses (two less),
Volkswagen took fourth place with 10 vehicles (not registered in March 2023), and Fiat rounded out the top five with three vehicles.
Turkish buses Temsa were not registered in March (a year earlier – one car). This brand reportedly planned to significantly strengthen its position in Ukraine.
Thus, in January-March 2024, the initial registrations of buses in Ukraine decreased by 27.6% compared to the same period in 2023 – to 305 units.
“Ukravtoprom also reports that the share of new buses in the Ukrainian bus market in March was 53%, and taking into account the old ones, the bus fleet (including minibuses) amounted to 146 units, which is 18% less than in March 2023 and 19% less than in February this year.
The three leaders in the used car segment were Mercedes-Benz – 22 units; Volvo – 11 units; and Van Hool – 9 units.
In 2023, the total initial registrations of new buses of all classes in Ukraine amounted to 1701 units, which is 86% more than in 2022.
Ukrainian companies increased exports of ferrous scrap by 52.2% in January-March this year compared to the same period last year, up to 61.261 thousand tons from 40.255 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, 20,907 thousand tons of scrap metal were exported in March (23,194 thousand tons in February and 17,160 thousand tons in January).
In monetary terms, scrap exports increased by 65.7% to $19.431 million from $11.725 million.
In January-March, Ukraine exported scrap metal to Poland (90.56%), Greece (5.42%) and Germany (3.89%).
In the first three months of the year, the country imported 254 thousand tons of scrap metal for $94 thousand. Imports were carried out from Slovakia (68.82% in monetary terms), Poland (13.98%) and the Netherlands (10.75%), while in January-March 2023, 46 tons of scrap were imported from Slovakia for $16 thousand.
As reported, in 2023, the scrap collecting enterprise of Ukraine increased the export of scrap metal from the country by 3.4 times compared to the previous year – up to 182,485 thousand tons from 53,557 thousand tons. In monetary terms, exports increased 2.74 times to $52.723 million from $19.271 million.
Earlier, Ukrmetallurgprom President Oleksandr Kalenkov stated in an op-ed on the Interfax-Ukraine website that scrap metal is exported through the European Union, which has a preferential export duty of EUR3 per ton, and from there the raw materials are redirected to real customers. He noted that exporting raw materials directly to customers would cost EUR180 in export duties, and the Ukrainian budget has already lost UAH 350 million.
The head of Ukrmetallurgprom called for a temporary ban on the export of ferrous scrap to provide steelmakers with strategically important raw materials in the ongoing war. He also clarified that a ton of scrap metal processed into steel brings in 10 times more to the budget than the EU export duty, which is about $300 per ton.
In 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of ferrous scrap by 11.5 times compared to the previous year, to 53,557 thousand tons, and in monetary terms, it decreased by 12.4 times, to $19.271 million.
As part of its preparations for the next heating season, the Ukrainian government will focus on the speedy construction of small-scale generation facilities for Kharkiv and other cities, with a further transition to the construction of large gas turbine plants in the medium term.
This was announced by Oleksandr Kubrakov, Vice Prime Minister for Recovery of Ukraine, on the air of the national telethon “United News” on Friday evening.
“We will try to build urgent low-capacity facilities for cities such as Kharkiv before the next heating season together with our partners. There are cogeneration units already provided by some governments. This may be the main solution for Kharkiv for this season,” he said.
According to the Vice Prime Minister, an action plan is currently being drawn up at the government level and in close consultation with local authorities, which should be implemented by the beginning of winter.
“In the medium term, large gas turbines with high efficiency are our future. We need several gigawatts of such capacities across the country,” Kubrakov said.
As he explained, gas turbine construction projects are quite attractive to investors due to, among other things, their high efficiency and low cost of electricity production.
“I hope that the export credit agencies of those countries that produce such equipment – the United States, Germany, and Japan – will be able to provide us with financing for their equipment, and we will be able to implement this plan,” the Deputy Prime Minister stated.
As reported, more than 85% of Ukraine’s thermal generation capacity and about 50% of its hydroelectric generation capacity have been destroyed as a result of enemy massive attacks.
According to former Energy Minister Olha Buslavets, in May of this year, the electricity deficit in Ukraine may reach about 3 GW.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine seeks to start negotiations on joining the European Union as soon as possible – no later than June this year, the Communications Department of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reported on Friday.
“We expect the EU to approve the negotiation framework for us without delay. We see no objective obstacles that could prevent this. We are actively supported by all European countries,” Shmyhal said at the panel “European Integration of Ukraine, its Regions and Territorial Communities” at the forum “Life of Regions in War.”
He added that Ukraine has reliable partners in the EU who are ready to help and share their experience for the successful completion of the negotiation process.
The Prime Minister noted that Ukraine has done all the homework to start negotiations on joining the EU. “The European Commission has confirmed that Ukraine has fulfilled all the conditions. We have demonstrated well-coordinated work. Today, the President announced a proposal to develop an infrastructure for European integration. This should include representatives from the government to communities who will work with European funds,” Shmyhal said.
He added that the Ukrainian government, for its part, is ready to help communities attract as much money as possible from the EU. At the same time, the main problem remains the ability of communities to prepare and present relevant projects. “This should be a priority for communities. Because this year we have access to European funds. Ukraine has moved from candidate status to negotiator status. And this gives us additional opportunities,” Shmyhal said.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) after weakening the official hryvnia exchange rate on Thursday by 14 kopecks on Friday lowered it by another 23 kopecks. – to 39.3990 UAH/$1, which is a new historic low.
As one of the market participants told Interfax-Ukraine news agency, by the end of trading, quotations in the Bloomberg system reached 39.45 UAH/$1 to 39.465 UAH/$1, while the volume of transactions rose to almost $160 million from $123 million the day before.
The reference value of the national currency exchange rate, set by the NBU at 12:00, weakened by 25 kopecks on Friday. – to UAH 39.3489/$1.
In the cash market, the national currency exchange rate on Friday fell by only 4 kopecks. – to UAH 39.49/$1, although during the day it reached UAH 39.55/$1.
Despite the weakening of the official hryvnia exchange rate to a new historic low, the net sale of dollars by the National Bank fell this week to $377.1 million from $454 million a week ago and $652.7-680.4 million in the previous two weeks.
The NBU website indicates that the sale of foreign currency by the regulator decreased to $378.3 million from $483.6 million a week earlier, while the purchase – to $1.3 million from $29.6 million.
As reported, the NBU’s net sales rose to $1.79bn in March from $1.51bn in February, but given the jump in external revenues to a record level of almost $9bn, international reserves increased by 18% or $6.7bn in March to a record level of $43.76bn.
In January, the NBU lowered the forecast of Ukraine’s international reserves at the end of 2024 to $40.4 billion from $44.7 billion and to $42.1 billion from $45 billion at the end of 2025.
