The Agrofusion Group of Companies (Mykolaiv) will expand the total growing area for tomatoes by 4% compared to last year, to 8,360 hectares, according to a posting on the website of the agricultural producer.
In addition, in the new production season, 0.1 thousand hectares have been allocated for organic tomatoes.
Agrofusion said that Agrofusion team has begun new tomato paste growing season. In the last decade of March we have started to sow tomato seeds at both Southern and Northern greenhouse complexes. This year our nurseries will grow more than 200 million transplants for the production of tomato paste presented in many countries under the TM Inagro.
According to the company’s website, Agrofusion is a vertically integrated group of companies in Ukraine that grows and processes tomatoes for producers of juices, ketchups and tomato sauces. It includes 10 branches, two greenhouses, three plants for the production of tomato paste (two in Mykolaiv region, one in Kherson region) with a total capacity of up to 750,000 tonnes of tomatoes per season. The total land bank of agricultural enterprises in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions is more than 32,000 hectares of irrigated land.
According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which provided EUR 10 million to the group of companies in September 2020 to finance working capital needs, Agrofusion is the third largest tomato company in Europe, exporting 72% of its products to 45 countries.
Immunization of Ukrainians with the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Chinese company Sinovac (CoronaVac) will start on Tuesday, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday. “The Ministry of Health has completed all the processes of testing and laboratory control of the vaccine and today we are starting the process of vaccination with this vaccine,” he said.
Stepanov said that 215,000 doses of the vaccine have already been delivered to Ukraine, the remaining 1.7 million doses will be delivered in April-May.
According to him, the vaccine will be used for vaccinations of low-mobility groups of the population, social workers, teachers who will take part in the External Independent Evaluation (ZNO), Olympians, Paralympians who are preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, employees of the National Police, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, workers of critical infrastructure.
Stepanov said that 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine are expected to be delivered during the week as part of the COVAX initiative. This vaccine is planned to vaccinate citizens staying at boarding schools, homes for the elderly, as well as employees of these institutions.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will visit France on Friday, April 16, where he is to meet with President Emmanuel Macron, Le Figaro reported. It is noted that the visit is associated with an increase in tension in Ukraine due to the military buildup of the Russian Federation on its borders. The presidents of the two countries will meet during a working lunch at the Elysee Palace.
As reported, Zelensky may meet with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss escalation in Donbas and reforms in Ukraine.
“The main purpose of the visit is to meet with Macron tête-à-tête,” French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins said in an interview with KyivPost.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 14/04/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of April 14
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
The Ocean Shipyard (Mykolaiv) has begun work on the creation of a new design for the dry dock gate, which will reliably seal the dock and allow the regular use of the dry dock.
According to a company press release, the new gate consists of eight sections, each weighing about 100 tonnes. In general, more than 800 tonnes of steel will be used for its creation.
The Ocean dry dock is 355 meters long, 60 meters wide, 17.1 m deep. It is one of the largest in Europe and so far the only one available in Ukraine. The area of the front dock is 35,000 square meters. The dry dock is equipped with two gantry cranes with a lifting capacity of 320 tonnes each and four erecting cranes a lifting capacity of 80 tonnes each.
The press service said that the restoration of the dry dock will enable the Ocean shipyard to return to the heavy-duty shipbuilding market, as well as to repair ships up to 300 meters in length.
The completion of the restoration of the dry dock gate is planned in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Mykolaiv Shipyard Ocean LLC (before April 2011 Wadan Yards Okean, before December 2008 Damen Shipyard’s Okean, before February 2001 – Shipyard Ocean).
The shipyard was established in 1951. It is one of the three largest shipbuilding enterprises in Ukraine. The main activities are shipbuilding and ship repair. The plant has two technological lines for the construction of medium and large-tonnage vessels. The large-tonnage line is used for building tankers and container ships, while the medium-tonnage lines are used to build barges, pontoons and tugs.
Since 2019, the Ocean Shipyard not only completes shipbuilding and ship repair orders, but also manufactures metal structures for infrastructure projects. Among them are the bridge on Volodymyrska Hirka and the Shuliavsky overpass in Kyiv.
The owner of the plant is businessman from Mykolaiv Vasyl Kapatsyna.
