The total area of residential buildings for which construction permits were issued (new construction) decreased by 37% in 2023 compared to 2022, to 4.2 million square meters, the State Statistics Service (Ukrstat) reported.
According to the statistics agency, in January-December 2023, the total area of new construction of apartment buildings decreased by 38.2% year-on-year to 4 million 33.6 thousand square meters, while the area of single-family houses increased by 26.5% to 164.5 thousand square meters. The number of apartments in apartment buildings declared for construction decreased by 1.8 times and amounted to 46.2 thousand square meters.
In Kyiv in 2023, the total area of new housing construction decreased by 66% compared to 2022, to 299.4 thousand square meters, and in Kyiv region – by 67%, to 616.1 thousand square meters.
According to the State Statistics Service, new construction in Lviv region decreased by 14% year-on-year to 870.3 thousand square meters, and in Khmelnytsky region by 5.3% to 313.1 thousand square meters.
At the same time, in Ivano-Frankivsk region, the volume of new construction in 2023 amounted to 469 thousand square meters, which is 2.3 times higher than the previous year. The increase in volumes was also recorded in Chernivtsi region – “plus” 275.4%, up to 225.4 thousand square meters, Zakarpattia region – “plus” 79.3%, up to 256 thousand square meters, Vinnytsia region – “plus” 77.4%, up to 230.6 thousand square meters.
In other regions of Ukraine, the volume of new construction last year showed a drop compared to the previous year and amounted to less than 200 thousand square meters.
The State Statistics Service reminds that the figures are given without taking into account the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and part of the territories where hostilities are ongoing (or have been ongoing).
As reported, the total area of new housing construction in 2022 amounted to 6.67 million square meters, in 2021 – 12.7 million square meters.
“As of March 2024, Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agro-industrial groups, has returned to pre-war volumes of agricultural exports by sea, said Yuriy Kizlevych, Head of the Transshipment and Fleet Department of the agricultural holding, during the online conference of the Center for Economic Strategies “Challenges at Sea and Border. What is the future of Ukraine’s foreign trade?”.
“We are investing in infrastructure. As of today, we have really returned to pre-war export volumes. During the full-scale invasion, we continued to invest in port terminals. We now own a certain cluster of terminals, both for grain and vegetable oil transshipment,” he said.
According to Mr. Kizlevych, Kernel handles not only its own agricultural products but also provides this service to other operators, which has a positive impact on the domestic market and exports.
The head of Kernel’s transshipment and fleet department noted that the agricultural holding sees prospects for increasing exports via the Black Sea sea corridor.
He also said that 70% of Kernel’s exports are to non-European destinations, including Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and only then to Western Europe.
Speaking about the cost of logistics, Kizlevych stated that since the beginning of the war, it has had to be divided into two components: domestic and maritime. All domestic market operators have problems with the former, in particular with regard to facilities where infrastructure has been damaged.
“However, thanks to the fruitful cooperation between business and the state, we see that the best ways to solve problematic infrastructure issues are being found. Inland logistics is changing very dynamically, taking into account the existing export channels. We see that this process has become more planned and manageable, comparable to the pre-war level,” he said.
Describing Ukraine’s maritime logistics, Kizlevych confirmed the impact of the military bonus factor on the total cost of export transportation.
“Of course, there is a factor of the military premium that must be paid to shipowners for the call of ships (to the Ukrainian part of the Black Sea – IF-U). Fleet freight has become more expensive. If we look at the “grain corridor”, its first Ukrainian version, we can state huge losses in port dues for the downtime of the large-capacity fleet. These are millions, tens of millions of losses,” said the Head of Transshipment and Fleet Department of Kernel.
At the same time, he emphasized that market participants see positive dynamics in the reduction of insurance rates, which is a positive signal and gives hope for a more stable functioning of Ukraine’s sea routes in 2024.
Before the war, Kernel Agro Holding was the world’s largest producer of sunflower oil (approximately 7% of global production) and a major exporter (approximately 12%). It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. In addition, it is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
Kernel’s net profit for FY2023 amounted to $299 million, while the company ended the previous year with a net loss of $41 million. The agricultural holding’s revenue for FY2023 decreased by 35% to $3.455 billion, but EBITDA increased 2.5 times to $544 million.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih’s Kryvyi Rih Mining and Metallurgical Plant (AMKR, Dnipro region) has received a conclusion from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine on the environmental impact assessment of the construction of a tailings dump – Map III – a special hydraulic structure used to dispose of enrichment waste.
“PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih informs that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine has issued a conclusion on the environmental impact assessment of the planned activity “Construction of the tailings dump “III map” sludge management of the ore processing plant in the Dnipropetrovs’k region of AMKR No. 21/01-202361210773/1 dated February 27, 2024 and the Report on public discussion No. 21/01-202361210773/2 dated February 27, 2024″, – according to the company’s information published by the Department of Ecology on the website of the Kryvyi Rih City Executive Committee on Thursday.
It is specified that the information on the company’s receipt of the environmental impact assessment conclusion is published in the Unified Register of Environmental Impact Assessment.
As reported, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has several times sent documents to the Ministry of Environment to approve the construction of a tailing dump for waste “III map”. In mid-2023, AMKR again sent documents to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine to approve the construction of the tailing dump.
According to the documentation available to Interfax-Ukraine, the planned activity is the new construction of the Karta III tailings dump in the sludge management facility of the ore processing plant on the territory of the Grechanopodivska and Novolativska village councils in the Shyrokivskyi district of Dnipropetrovska oblast.
Earlier it was explained that the procedure for assessing the planned activity is carried out within the framework of expansion and changes, including revision or updating of the conditions for carrying out the planned activity established by the decision to carry out the planned activity or extend the terms of its implementation (…).
Information on the intention of the AMCS to obtain an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was published by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources on June 15, 2023.
Earlier it was reported that PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih intends to build the Map III tailing dump. The construction of the tailings storage facility is necessary “due to the fact that the existing tailings storage facilities have reached the limits of economic feasibility of their expansion”.
At the same time, it was specified that the company’s crude ore output for 2021-2025 is 24.4269 million tons per year, with an annual tailings output of 14.964 million cubic meters per year. The design elevation of the enclosure dam is 100 meters. The total capacity of the tailing dump is 34.8 million cubic meters, with a usable capacity of 29.4 million cubic meters. The area of the tailing pit is 382.95 hectares. The total length of the containment dams is 5,950 meters and their maximum height is 12 meters. The area of the construction site is 521.1245 hectares.
Thus, in line with the requirements of the Ministry of Ecology, AMKR has to enter the environmental impact assessment procedure for the fourth time.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih currently operates three tailing dumps, two of which – Myroliubivka and United. The company planned to invest about $50 million in 2020-2024. The company has already invested more than $15 million in the third tailing dump, Central, having completed construction in 2017 to the level of +90 meters (now +95 meters). AMKR will spend the same amount to expand it to +115 meters (these works are planned for the next seven years).
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest rolled steel producer in Ukraine. It specializes in long products, including rebar and wire rod.
ArcelorMittal owns the largest mining and metallurgical plant in Ukraine, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Berislav.
Harvest volumes of grains and pulses, mln tons
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
On Friday morning, oil prices for benchmark brands are being adjusted downward after rising to their highest levels since early November following the results of previous trading.
The price of May futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:00 a.m. was $85.23 per barrel, which is $0.19 (0.22%) lower than at the close of the previous session. On Thursday, these contracts rose by $1.39 (1.7%) to $85.42 per barrel.
Quotes for WTI futures for April in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in the morning fell by $0.17 (0.21%) to $81.09 per barrel. At the end of the previous session, the price of these contracts rose by $1.54 (1.9%) to $81.26 per barrel.
Since the beginning of the week, oil has risen in price by about 4% due to signs of high demand in the United States and bullish analysts’ forecasts for fuel consumption this year, Trading Economics writes.
The International Energy Agency on Thursday raised its forecast for oil demand in 2024 by 200 thousand barrels per day to 103.2 million bpd. In particular, the estimate of oil consumption in the first quarter was improved by 400 thousand bpd to 102 million bpd, the forecast for the second and third quarters was increased by 200 thousand bpd to 103 and 104 million bpd, respectively.
Purchase prices for slaughter pigs in mid-March increased by 4.5-6%, according to the Pig Producers of Ukraine industry association.
“Following the results of last Friday’s trading, operators revised the selling prices of live pigs by an average of 4.5-6% upward. Thus, in all regions of the country, most commercial batches of cuttings this week are purchased at 65-66 UAH/kg, although there are occasional price offers at the level of 67 UAH/kg. The weighted average market price stopped at 65.4 UAH/kg, which is 4.7% higher than the previous week,” analysts said.
As added in the association, the opinions of operators on further price dynamics are typically different. Some meat processors expect a change in the vector of price movement, stating sluggish sales, unfavorable weather conditions for more active consumption and the beginning of the pre-Easter fast. A number of others, on the contrary, note relatively even sales, so they do not expect a significant change in prices.
“We are not talking about a surplus of conditioned pork yet: in some places, there is information about an active supply of large animals from the population and/or small situational farmers, but in terms of volume and quality, according to a number of procurers, such a supply does not compete with industrial pork,” the industry association summarized.
