Business news from Ukraine

UKRAINE RAISES CHEESE EXPORTS BY 16.8%, IMPORTS 1.6-FOLD IN JANUARY

Ukraine in January 2018 supplied 368 tonnes of cheese to foreign markets, which is 16.8% more than in the same period of 2017.
According to customs statistics, released by the State Fiscal Service, in monetary terms shipments of these products increased 31.8%, to $1.26 million.
Cheese imports in January amounted to 869 tonnes, increasing 1.6-fold compared to the same period last year. The country imported products worth $4.3 million (in January 2017 some $2.5 million).
Exports of butter from Ukraine in January 2018 increased 4.2-fold, to 2,500 tonnes. In monetary terms, the figure amounted to $11.2 million against $2.2 million in January 2017. Imports of this product grew 2.9-fold in January 2018, from 39tonnes ($186,000) to 114 tonnes ($726,000).
Exports of milk and cream (condensed) in January 2018 decreased 23%, to 2,370 tonnes. Ukraine supplied condensed milk and cream for a total of $3.8 million, which is 23.3% less than in January of 2017.

LARGE TAXPAYERS INCREASE PAYMENTS TO UKRAINIAN BUDGET BY 6.5% IN JAN 2018

The largest taxpayers of Ukraine in January 2018 transferred UAH 19.7 billion to the budget, which is UAH 1.1 billion, or 6.5% more than in January 2017, the office of the largest payers of the State Fiscal Service wrote on its Facebook page.
“The share of tax payments from large businesses, serviced by the office, accounted for 58.4% of the total collection of tax payments to the national budget in Ukraine,” the report said.
The largest revenues in January were provided by large taxpayers of Kyiv (UAH 14.9 billion), Dnipro (UAH 1.6 billion), Kharkiv (UAH 1.4 billion), Zaporizhia (UAH 700 million), Lviv (UAH 400 million), and Odesa (UAH 700 million).
As reported, in 2017 large taxpayers transferred UAH 250.3 billion to the budget, which is UAH 30.3 billion or 13% more than in 2016.
The service reduced the number of largest taxpayers by 1,230 enterprises in the register for 2018, to 1,364.

BELGIUM’S UPGRADE ENERGY WANTS TO BUILD 30 MW SOLAR POWER PLANT IN UKRAINE, ZHYTOMYR REGION

Belgium’s Upgrade Energy wants to build a solar power plant with the installed capacity of 25-30 MW in Zhytomyr region, the press service of the Zhytomyr Regional Administration has reported. The press service said that it would take two years to implement the project. Irshansk solar power plant LLC (Zhytomyr) will implement the project. Land parcel leasing agreements have been signed,” the administration said.
Upgrade Energy did not work previously in Ukraine. Today beneficiaries of Irshansk solar power plant LLC are Kyiv resident Oleh Hramotenko and Estonia Energy Invest.

EIGHT INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES SHOW INTEREST TO MANAGEMENT OF UKRAINIAN GAS TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Eight international companies have shown their interest to the management of the Ukrainian gas transport system (GTS), advisor to the Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Maskym Beliavsky has said. “Today, a procedure for receiving and studying proposals from interested companies is underway. As of February 1, proposals were received from the eight global leading companies,” he said.
Beliavsky recalled that the deadline for accepting proposals from potential partners in managing the GTS of Ukraine was extended from February 1 to March 1, 2018. “With a view to more thoroughly studying the expectations and proposals of international partners, as well as the synchronization of this process with the progress of the creation of an independent operator of the gas transportation system, it was decided to extend the deadline for acceptance of the proposals until March 1, 2018,” he said.
As reported, along with Snam (Italy)/Eustream (Slovakia) and Gasunie (the Netherlands)/GRTgaz (France), with which the relevant memorandums were signed, a German group is also interested in the management of Ukraine’s gas transit system.

EBRD GIVES EUR 24.7 MLN LOAN TO ENERGOPARK YAVORIV TO BUILD SOLAR POWER PLANT IN UKRAINE

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Energopark Yavoriv LLC have signed a loan agreement for construction of the first phase of a solar power plant for the amount of EUR 24.7 million. Energopark Yavoriv LLC Director Maskym Kozytsky told reporters that construction of the solar power plant will start in Yavoriv district of Lviv region in March 2018. Its capacity is 36 MW and the total cost of the project is EUR 34 million.
Energopark Yavoriv LLC is part of EcoOptima Group, which develops alternative energy in Lviv region. At present, two wind farms and four solar power plants have been built.