Inflation in Ukraine in January 2018 was 1.5% compared to 1% in December of the previous year, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine has reported.
According to its data, in annual terms the growth of consumer prices also accelerated in January to 14.1% from 12.6% over the same period in the past year.
Underlying inflation in January 2018 compared with December 2017 amounted to 0.7%, from January last year to 9.8%.
Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages in the consumer market in January 2018 compared with December 2017 increased by 2%. Prices for vegetables and fruits rose most of all (by 10.8% and 7.6%). Prices for eggs, milk, sour cream, bread, fish, butter, and meat rose by 3-1.1%. At the same time, prices for buckwheat fell by 2.7%, and sugar by 1%.
Prices for alcoholic drinks and tobacco products grew by 1.1%, in particular for tobacco products by 1.6%, alcoholic drinks by 0.5%.
The growth of prices (tariffs) for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 0.4% occurred mainly due to the increase in tariffs for the maintenance of houses and adjacent areas by 6%, prices for liquefied gas by 4.8% and housing rent rates by 0.9%.
The increase in transport fares in general by 3% was mainly due to the rise in prices for fuel and oils by 4.4%, cars by 3.4%, and transport services by 2.4%.
In the sphere of communications, prices increased by 2.8%, which is due to the rise in the price of postal services by 25% and local telephony by 8.3%.
The state plans to completely withdraw from the capital of nationalized PrivatBank in five years, Finance Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Danyliuk has said at a press conference in Dnipro.
“We plan to fully transfer the bank to the private sector in five years,” he said.
According to Danyliuk, the corresponding intentions will be fixed in the strategy of development of state banks, which is expected to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers within one or two weeks.
Speaking about the selling price of the bank, the minister noted it will depend on a number of factors.
“[It will depend] on the way how effectively the management team will work, how successfully it implements the strategy. This is the first. Secondly, this is the quality of regulation of the banking sector. And the third one is market conditions,” Danyliuk said.
“But we have five years, and I’m sure that this will allow us getting the most attractive result for taxpayers,” he added.
Industrial prices in Ukraine in January 2018 increased by 4.4% from December 2017, whereas their growth in December 2017 was by 1.7%, in November 2017 by 1.8% and in October 2017 by 2.3%, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine said on Friday.
Growth of industrial prices in January 2018 compared to January 2017 was 22%.
The statistics service recalled that in January 2017 Ukraine’s industry saw a 0.3% decrease in prices compared to December 2016, whereas they grew by 36.8% compared to January 2016.
Prices in the mining industry and quarrying went up by 2.7% in January 2018 from December 2017, in particular, prices of crude oil grew by 4.1% and those of iron ore by 3.1%, it said.
Prices in the processing industry increased by 2.3%. In particular, chemicals and chemical products went up in price by 1.7%, while prices of vehicles, trailers and semitrailers grew by 6.8%. Prices in metallurgical production, production of finished metal goods, except for machinery and equipment, increased by 3.7%, while those of computers, electronics and optical goods rose by 3.5%. Key pharmaceutical products and pharmaceuticals, and electrical equipment went up in price by 2.8%. At the same time, prices of coke and fuel declined by 1.7%.
Prices in the production of food, beverages and tobacco climbed by 0.8%. In particular, prices of beverages grew by 1.8%, those of meat and meat products by 1%, sugar by 0.8%, bread, bakery and flour products by 1%, and dairy products by 0.5%.
Power rates, gas prices and air conditioning tariffs rose by 10.2% in January 2018.
As reported, Ukraine saw a 16.5% increase in industrial prices in 2017.
Ukrainian automobile manufacturers in January 2018 made 570 vehicles, which is 44.7% more than in January 2017, including a rise of 59.7% in production of passenger cars, to 479, the Ukrautoprom association has reported. According to preliminary data from the association, all passenger cars were made by private joint-stock company Eurocar, as it was in January 2017.
Production of commercial vehicles fell by 45.8%, to 32 (not taking into account data from PrJSC AvtoKrAZ), while bus production grew by 68.6%, to 59.
Eurocar producing Skoda cars was the leader last month. Zaporizhia Automobile Plant (ZAZ) almost did not make passenger cars in January, but it made 30 commercial vehicles (compared with 59 in January 2017) and seven buses (two a year ago).
As reported, this year ZAZ almost stopped manufacturing passenger cars.
The leader in bus production in January was Chernihiv Automobile Plant of the Etalon Corporation, making 20 buses, while a year ago the plant did not produce buses.
Chasiv Yar Bus Plant (Donetsk region) made 17 buses (14 in January 2017). Cherkasy Bus manufactured 12 buses (19) and two commercial vehicles (no commercial vehicle in January 2017).
The Bogdan Corporation’s plant made three buses (no bus in January 2017).
Ukraine in 2017 imported 80,500 new cars, from which UAH 15.8 billion of customs fees were paid, whereas in 2016 the number of customs clearance cases amounted to 63,000 cars with the payment of UAH 12.4 billion, the State Fiscal Service has reported.
At the same time, imports of used cars were 72,900 vehicles with the payment of UAH 5.5 billion of customs fees, in particular at reduced excise tax rates 69,500 units with the payment of UAH 5.1 billion. In 2016 the country imported 23,800 used cars, including 15,100 cars at preferential rates, for which UAH 2.4 billion of customs fees were paid (including UAH 1.2 billion at reduced rates).
As reported, the law allowing individuals to import one used car a year at significantly reduced excise tax rates has been valid in Ukraine since August 2016
IMC agroholding has finished harvesting corn sown in 2017. The company harvested almost 610,000 tonnes of corn from over 67,000 ha
According to the company’s press release, gross yield of 9.1 tonnes per ha, which is equal to the record yield of corn achieved by the company in 2016.
“Despite that 2017 year was the extremely difficult for the agrarians in Ukraine, when as a result of the cold spring, arid summer and heavy rains in the autumn, the average yield of corn in Ukraine decreased by 18% compared to 2016, and the harvesting terms of the grain were significantly extended, in IMC we repeated our record on corn yield of 9.1 tonnes per hectare,” the company said, citing IMC Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Verzhykhovsky.
IMC focuses on cultivation of grains, oilseeds and potatoes. It is one of the largest milk producers in Ukraine. It owns a storage capacity of 554,000 tonnes of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is 136,600 ha in Poltava, Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
