The deficit of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-May 2021 increased by 25.5% compared to January-May 2020, to $ 1.078 billion from $ 859 million, the State Statistics Service has reported.
According to its data, the export of goods from Ukraine for the specified period increased by 26.1% compared to the same period in 2020, to $ 26.608 billion, imports – by 26.1%, to $ 25.686 billion.
The service clarified that in May compared with April 2021, the seasonally adjusted export volume increased by 6.4%, to $ 5.523 billion, while imports decreased by 0.6%, to $ 5.567 billion.
The seasonally adjusted foreign trade balance in May 2021 was also negative and amounted to $ 440 million, which is worse than in the previous month ($ 410 million).
The ratio of coverage of imports by exports for the five months of this year, the same as in January-May 2020, amounted to 0.96%.
The State Statistics Service specified that foreign trade operations were carried out with partners from 220 countries of the world.
Hungary has included the railway in the list of possible transit routes for Ukrainian citizens, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“A week ago, Peter Szijjarto and I agreed that Hungary would allow transit to Austria for Ukrainians traveling by train. The Hungarian government has fulfilled the agreement and included the railway in transit routes just when the visa-free regime is being restored. We are expanding the freedom of travel of Ukrainians,” Kuleba wrote in Twitter on Thursday.
Ferrexpo, a mining company with assets in Ukraine, has launched a pilot project of a 5 MW solar battery complex at the operating industrial site of Poltava Mining and Processing Plant (Poltava GOK) without a feed-in tariff, the company said.
“This is a pilot project, after which the company will move to a full-scale replacement of conventional electricity with renewable energy from the sun as part of the program of decarbonization of manufactured products. Ferrexpo plans to build a power plant for the production of renewable energy with a capacity of 250-1,000 MW in the medium term,” the document says.
According to the report, almost 10,000 photovoltaic panel of Jinko Solar were used in the implemented project, the panels are installed on the dumps of the quarries in order to rationalize the use of the area.
The cost, according to the press release, was “several million U.S. dollars.” The company financed it without using any state compensation programs, subsidies, grants or a feed-in tariff.
“We have achieved a market return on this project without any feed-in tariffs from the state, which should be an example for other enterprises building renewable energy generation facilities,” Ferrexpo said.
According to chairman of the board of Poltava GOK Viktor Lotous, the solar plant will generate 6.5-7 million kWh of electricity per year and supply it for consumption by the group’s enterprises at the operating industrial site.
“The launch of its own generation reduces the negative consequences of monopolization of the energy market for Ferrexpo due to the restriction of competition and the risks of an increase in the tariff for electricity transmission,” he said.
Ferrexpo owns 100% of shares in Poltava GOK, 100% in Yeristovo GOK and 99.9% in Belanovo GOK.
In 2020, the company increased its net profit by 57.5%, to $ 635.3 million with an increase in revenue by 12.8%, to $ 1.700 billion. Last year, Ferrexpo increased its total production of pellets by 7%, to 11.22 million tonnes, concentrate output increased by 5.9%, to 14 million tonnes.
In the first half of this year, Ferrexpo cut pellet production by 0.6%, to 5.563 million tonnes, but total production, which also includes commercial concentrate, rose by 2%, to 5.712 million tonnes.
QUOTES OF INTERBANK CURRENCY MARKET OF UKRAINE (UAH FOR €1, IN 01.06.2021-30.06.2021)
Candidate for the post of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky assures that as the minister he will focus on the safety of citizens and strengthening the level of trust in law enforcement agencies.
Speaking from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada on Friday, he thanked President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky for his trust. “The main priority will be the safety of citizens, society, strengthening the level of trust in law enforcement agencies,” he added.
As reported, Arsen Avakov on Tuesday submitted a letter of resignation from the post of Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, which the Verkhovna Rada supported on July 15.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has opened sales for the Abu Dhabi-Odesa flight, which will be launched in September, Director of Odesa International Airport Volodymyr Semenchenko has reported.
“There were companies that paused the approach to Odesa. The opening of a new runway will activate the process. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has already opened sales to Odesa since September,” Semenchenko said during the ceremony of opening the new runway.
According to him, the flights will be operated by Airbus 321neo aircraft.
“There are several more companies with which we have signed contracts, but it is too early to announce them,” the director said.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi low cost airline is based in the UAE and is a joint venture between state-owned ADQ and Hungary’s Wizz Air Holdings plc.
