The structure of customs offices should be optimized, according to Deputy Head of the Office of the President for economic issues Oleksiy Honcharuk has said. “The customs structure should be precisely optimized. Exactly those customs officers who will work there should have normal working conditions,” he said at a press briefing on Tuesday, commenting on statements of the head of the State Customs Service, Maksym Nefyodov, on the intention to reduce the number of custom offices from 26 to five or six.
However, he said that Nefyodov proposed a model for reforming the authority.
“Yes, we see some possibilities for optimizing the number of customs offices. To what number, I think, Max (Nefyodov) himself will also specify these figures when he starts working,” Honcharuk said.
On Wednesday, July 10, at 10.30, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference by UTG entitled “Half-Year Results in Real Estate Market of Ukraine 2019: Main Trends and Challenges.” Participants: UTG Director Yevhenia Loktionova, head of the strategic consulting department at UTG Kostiantyn Oliynyk, deputy head of the strategic consulting department at UTG Oksana Havrylevych (8/5a Reitarska Street). Accreditation of journalists by phone: +38 067 216 4343, +38 044 537 2364, or by e-mail: pr@utg.kiev.ua.
Ukraine for the ten months of the 2018/2019 marketing year (MY, September-August) exported 403,000 tonnes of sugar, which is 20% less than during the same period of the previous MY, the press service of the Ukrtsukor National Association of Sugar Producers has said. “It is likely that, according to the results of the current marketing year, sugar exports will amount to about 500,000 tonnes. This is 10% less than in the previous MY. The decline in supplies is due to low world sugar prices and an unfavorable market situation,” Ruslana Butylo, the deputy chairman of the association, said.
According to the association, sugar exports in June 2019 decreased by 40% compared with May and amounted to 24,800 tonnes.
“Azerbaijan remained the main importer of Ukrainian sugar in June, but Libya competed with it: these two countries accounted for 28% of total exports. Also, significant deliveries were made to Georgia and Tajikistan (12% and 10% respectively),” the expert said.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will issue a $10 million loan to Sodrugestvo agro-industrial group, one of the world’s largest soybean processors. According to information on the bank’s website, the funds will be used to finance working capital for the group’s subsidiaries in Serbia and Ukraine.
In addition, the EBRD is organizing a $80 million loan to finance capital expenditures and working capital for a Sodrugestvo subsidiary in Turkey. It is expected that the EBRD will issue $55 million, and the rest of the loan ($25 million) will be syndicated. The cost of the entire project is estimated at $87.5 million. The funds will be used to partially finance the purchase of a production facility in Izmir (Turkey), upgrade the acquired object and finance working capital to expand activities in Turkey.
According to the bank, the financing will allow the company to expand the supplier base in Ukraine and Serbia and support the purchase of assets in Turkey.
Sodrugestvo Group was founded in 1994. It has headquarters in Luxembourg and over 30 enterprises in 20 countries. The company operates in the regions of Russia, the CIS, Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, Central and Latin America.
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine has promulgated a draft law that proposes raising financial support for tour operators by 10 times and introducing fines for illegal use of categories by hotels.
According to the text of the draft law posted on the ministry’s website, the amount of financial provision for a tour operator should be at least 5% of the annual sales volume for the previous year, but not less than EUR 200,000 for the operator offering outbound tourism services (against EUR 20,000 in current legislation), not less than EUR 100,000 for tour operators of inbound and domestic tourism (against EUR 10,000), not less than EUR 50,000 for operators of domestic tourism. At the same time, financial support for travel agents must be at least 5% of the annual sales volume, but not less than EUR 20,000.
The size of guarantees for newly established tour operators is equal to the lower threshold depending on the chosen type of tourism, or EUR 10,000 per travel agent.
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade also proposes stipulating fines for violators of tourism legislation, in particular, for illegal use of tourist infrastructure categories and not providing tourist entry and departure under the contract in the amount of 100-500 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens, and for repeated violations during the year some 800-1,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of july 9
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
