The Government of Ukraine has expanded the terms of state grants under the program “eWork” for the development of horticulture, in particular, increased compensation for the cost of vineyard planting projects from 225 thousand UAH to 330 thousand UAH per 1 hectare of plantings, reported the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food on Wednesday.
It is indicated that the relevant changes to the Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution of June 21, 2022 № 738 were made by the resolution № 241 on the initiative of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
It is noted that the agreed document proposes to change the conditions of planting and arrangement of planting on the land plot or on adjacent plots.
According to the new norms, grants will be provided not only for planting not more than 25 hectares of plantations with the installation of irrigation systems and water intake, but also for the arrangement of plantations on the land plot or on adjacent land plots, the total area of which is from 1 to 25 hectares.
The resolution also allows location between land plots of farm tracks, runs, field protective forest strips and other protective plantings, boundaries (rivers, streams, canals, forest strips, vegetation strips, trees, paths, ravines, gullies, ravines, wetlands).
According to the adopted document, at the same time the Cabinet of Ministers obliged grant recipients to attach scanned copies of the project of construction of a modular greenhouse with cost estimates, which must be signed by the project developer and irrigation project (in the absence of a corresponding section with calculations in the project of construction of a modular greenhouse) with indication of water intake sources (previously, project estimates and indication of water intake sources were not required) when registering an application on the portal “Dia”.
The government grant program “eWork” has been in effect since July 1, 2022 and provides support for small and medium-sized businesses. Among its advantages is the opportunity for everyone to create or develop their own business in the areas of “Own Business”, “Own Garden”, “Own Greenhouse”, and “New Level”.
In 2023, 131 orders were issued for grants for the development of horticulture, berry growing, viticulture (UAH 432.8 million) and greenhouse farming (UAH 159.4 million). It is expected to create about 15 thousand jobs.
Grants are provided in the amount of no more than 70% of the project cost and no more than UAH 10 million. The grant recipient must finance with its own or credit funds at least 30% of the project cost. A mandatory condition is employment of a certain number of workers: for orchards – from 5 to 10 permanent and 125-425 seasonal workers depending on the name of plantings, for greenhouses – at least 4 permanent and 10 seasonal workers per 1 hectare.
Funding for agro-producers under the government’s eWork program during 2024-2025 is provided through World Bank support under the “Emergency Inclusive Support for Ukraine’s Agricultural Recovery (ARISE) Emergency Project”.
The reference exchange rate of the hryvnia to the US dollar on the interbank foreign exchange market as of 12:00 a.m. on March 7, 2024.
Indicator 06.03.2024 07.03.2024 07.03.2024 Change, %.
Reference hryvnia to US dollar (UAH/$) 38.3099 38.1029 -0.54
Ukrainian car fleet in February was replenished with 17.8 thousand used cars imported from abroad, which is one third more than in the same month of 2023, Ukravtoprom reported in its Telegram channel.
As reported, new passenger cars for the same month, according to the association, registered 5.7 thousand (an increase of 51%).
The largest share in the segment of used foreign cars last month still belonged to gasoline cars – 48%. Then come: diesel cars – 27%; electric cars – 16%; cars with gasoline – 5%; hybrids – 4%.
The leader among imported “second hand” remains Volkswagen Golf – 963 registrations.
The top 10 most popular models also include: Renault Megane – 806 units; Skoda Octavia – 688 units; Volkswagen Passat – 572 units; Volkswagen Tiguan – 451 units; Nissan Leaf – 416 units; Nissan Rogue – 414 units; Audi Q5 – 409 units; Tesla Model 3 – 380 units and Audi A4 – 349 units.
The average age of used cars, transferred to Ukrainian license plates in February, is 9.4 years (in January of this year – 9.8 years).
In total, in January-February, 34.5 thousand used cars imported from abroad passed the first registration in Ukraine – 38% more than in the same period of 2023.
As reported, in February-2023 demand for used used foreign cars in Ukraine decreased by 54% to February-2022 – to 13.5 thousand units, and the leader was Renault Megan with 1049 cars.
For the whole last year registrations of such cars decreased by 45% against the previous year – to 214.4 thousand units.
The companies of Ukrtruboprom increased pipe production by 10.2% year-on-year to 495.6 thousand tons in 2023.
According to the association’s data on Wednesday, in 2023, pipe companies showed mixed dynamics.
In particular, Interpipe Nico Tube increased its seamless pipe production by 13.3%, while Trubostal reduced it by 42.5%. Ukrtruboizol increased production of electric-welded pipes by 43.8%, while Interpipe NMTZ decreased production by 53.8%. “Centravis increased production of stainless pipes by 11.7%. Oscar’s pipe production decreased by 30.5%.
At the same time, it is specified that in January 2023, 30.1 thousand tons of pipe products were produced (44.9% compared to January 2022), in February – 39.4 thousand tons (80.4% compared to February 2022), in March – 57.1 thousand tons (1631 tons (1631.4% compared to March 2022). tons (1631.4% compared to March 2022), in April – 42.3 thousand tons (228.6% compared to April 2022), in May – 49.6 thousand tons (96.5% compared to May 2022), in June – 35 thousand tons (67.8% compared to June 2022).
In July 2023, the company produced 43.9 thousand tons of pipes (112% compared to July 2022), in August – 41.8 thousand tons (114.5%), in September – 36.9 thousand tons (89.9%), in October – 39.7 thousand tons (98%), in November – 37.2 thousand tons (110.1%) and in December – 42.4 thousand tons (239.5%).
Georgiy Polskiy, CEO of Ukrtruboprom, noted that the Ukrainian pipe industry showed growth last year. This happened for the first time in two years of full-scale war, despite the proximity of many production sites to the front line and Nikopol being located directly in the war zone, which is subject to constant shelling.
“Against this backdrop, it is logical that we cannot talk about pre-war pipe production volumes: the results of 2023 are only 70% of the level of 2021. However, the production results for the year could have been higher if imported products from China had not entered the domestic market in large volumes, especially when analogues are produced in Ukraine. Chinese pipe products have simply flooded the Ukrainian market, both in the private segment and in tenders of state-owned companies,” stated the head of Ukrtruboprom.
He added that “that is why we were very enthusiastic about the establishment of the All-Ukrainian platform ‘Made in Ukraine’, which can help change the state economic policy.”
“This platform will help to solve the shameful problem of import penetration, in particular, in public tenders, thanks to the constant direct dialog between the state and business. At the same time, support for Ukrainian producers will become one of the key priorities of the government and parliament, which will strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities in wartime,” Polsky said.
As reported, Ukrtruboprom’s enterprises reduced pipe production by 37.9% in 2022 compared to 2021, to 449.7 thousand tons. In 2022, all plants showed negative dynamics. “Interpipe Niko Tube and Trubostal reduced production of seamless pipes by 31.1% and 61.6%, respectively, Centravis – stainless pipes by 38.3%, Interpipe NMTZ – electric-welded pipes by 67.1%. Production of pipes at Oscar fell by 20%, and only Ukrtruboizol reached the production level of 2021. Dnipropetrovs’k Pipe Plant has been idle and is in the process of liquidation.
Sukha Balka mine (Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro region), part of Aleksandr Yaroslavsky’s DCH group, plans to increase iron ore production in 2024.
According to a report in DCH Steel’s corporate newspaper on Thursday, the company’s iron ore production will be cut in 2023 due to the shutdown of the Frunze mine. Frunze mine in 2023, production decreased compared to 2022.
“However, the situation has improved since the second half of 2023, and in 2024 we plan to increase ore production and sales by 20%, as well as the volume of sinking and drilling operations. We have allocated funds for capital repairs, construction and purchase of new equipment. In particular, in March, it is planned to replace the mine osprey at Yubileynaya mine,” said Igor Piltek, chief engineer of the mine, as quoted in the publication.
According to the company, in 2023, the mine produced 941 thousand tons of commercial ore (1.469 million tons in 2022). The plan for 2024 is 1.134 million tons.
Sukha Balka mine is one of the leading mining companies in Ukraine. It produces iron ore by underground mining. The mine includes Yubileynaya and Frunze mines. Frunze mine.
DCH Group acquired the mine from Evraz Group in May 2017.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved Ukrnafta’s financial plan for 2024, according to which the company’s net income is planned at UAH 118 billion and net profit at UAH 18 billion.
“The draft financial plan for 2024 also provides for: UAH 31 billion in taxes and fees, UAH 8.7 billion in dividends to the state,” the company said in a press release on Wednesday.
According to the document, in 2023, Ukrnafta earned UAH 24 billion in net profit, paid UAH 26 billion in taxes and fees, and will transfer more than UAH 8 billion in dividends to the budget at the end of the year.
“In 2024, the company plans strong growth with investments in development: the start of drilling 30 new wells, purchase and installation of world-class stimulation equipment, and renewal of the filling station network,” Ukrnafta CEO Sergiy Koretsky said in a press release.
As reported, Ukrnafta has set a strategic goal to double its oil and natural gas production to 3 million tons and 2 billion cubic meters by 2027, respectively.
“Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil producer and operator of a national network of 537 filling stations, of which 456 are in operation.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share. On November 5, 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer the corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is now managed by the Ministry of Defense, to the state.
