In March 2025, Ukraine exported 5.4 million tons of agricultural products, which is 9.8% more than the same indicator of the previous month, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB).
All groups of goods showed growth compared to the previous month, but the largest increase was in oilseed processing products, namely oilcake and oil, whose exports increased by 42% and 29%, respectively, analysts said.
According to their information, in February 2025, the structure of agricultural exports was dominated by cereals, which were supplied to foreign markets in the amount of 3.6 mln tons, which is 5% more than a month earlier. At the same time, corn accounted for 66% of exports, wheat – 31%, and barley – 2%.
At the same time, in March 2025, the export volumes of oilseeds increased by 4% to 433.6 thsd tonnes (soybean – 85%, rapeseed – 7% and sunflower – 6%), and by 29% of vegetable oils – to 495.6 thsd tonnes. tons (sunflower oil – 89% and soybean oil – 11%), by 11% of cake after extraction of vegetable oils – to 493.5 thousand tons (sunflower oil – 70%, soybean oil – 30%), by 11% of other agricultural products – to 363.2 thousand tons.
Supplies of lead and lead products to Ukraine in January-February 2025 increased 8.7 times to $1.228 million. In February alone, lead was imported for $647 thousand. At the same time, lead exports decreased by 23.4% to $1.346 million.
Lead is currently mainly used in the production of lead-acid batteries for the automotive industry. In addition, lead is used to make bullets and some alloys.
MediGroup becomes part of Finnish Mehiläinen in the largest deal on the private healthcare market in Central and Eastern Europe
Finnish medical group Mehiläinen acquires the largest private healthcare network in Serbia, MediGroup, in the largest private healthcare transaction in Central and Eastern Europe.
MediGroup, founded in 2013, comprises 13 clinics, three maternity hospitals, two laboratory centers and three laboratories across Serbia. The network provides a wide range of medical services, including diagnostics, outpatient and inpatient care.
Mehiläinen, a leading Finnish operator of medical services, is already present in the markets of Sweden, Germany and Latvia. The purchase of MediGroup opens up an opportunity for the company to strengthen its position in Southeastern Europe and increase patients’ access to high quality healthcare.
Mikko Vetterviri, Director of Mehiläinen International, said that the move is in line with the company’s strategy of international expansion and introduction of new technologies in medicine. He emphasized that the investment in the Serbian market is driven by its high growth potential and the growing demand for private healthcare.
Closing of the transaction is expected after regulatory approvals. In the future it is planned to modernize MediGroup’s medical centers, expand the range of medical services and introduce digital technologies, which are already used by Mehiläinen’s patients in other countries.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/737
The total expenditures of the leading domestic manufacturers of top-100 medicines on compensation of balances to distributors after the reduction of selling prices from March 1 exceeded UAH 601.7 million, according to the data obtained byInterfax-Ukraine from the participants of the pharmaceutical market.
In particular, Pharmak has paid UAH 150.7 mln for the balance of goods, which at the time of price reduction had already been delivered to pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies, Darnitsa – UAH 107 mln, Kyiv Vitamin Plant (KVZ) – UAH 83 mln, Arteruim – UAH 78.08 mln, Kusum-Pharm – UAH 58.87 mln, Yuria-Pharm – UAH 43.6 mln, Interhim – UAH 28.45 mln, Borschagovsky Khimpharmzavod (BKhPZ) – UAH 26.04 mln, pharma firm Viola – UAH 2.46 mln.
The total net loss of the companies from price reduction exceeded UAH 1.741 bln.
According to participants of the pharmaceutical market, most of the rise in drug prices over the three military years was created by the pharmacy link. Thus, the manufacturer’s prices during the three years of war increased by 18-45%, while retail prices – by 79%, pharmacy markups in monetary terms increased by 125-340%.
At the same time, the market participants note that after the introduction of restrictions on marketing payments, a tendency to increase retail mark-ups by a number of pharmacy chains against the background of lower purchase prices started to be registered on the market. Thus, pharmacies raise mark-ups to the maximum allowed level without any objective reasons.
At the same time, commenting on the impact of price reductions on the development of the pharmacy network, pharmacy market operators note that the national health policy should take into account the optimal number of pharmacies, as well as population density, demand and geographical location. At the same time, the increase in the number of pharmacies in cities with a simultaneous shortage of staff is a systemic problem. Therefore, a certain optimization of networks, taking into account consumption and demand, can help to solve the staff shortage, reduce costs and improve efficiency.
However, pharma market participants expect regulators to update the mechanisms of transparent pricing and continue the reform. In particular, they are discussing mechanisms for price referral, rules for transparent marketing and regulatory price adjustments.
As reported, in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of February 12 on additional measures to ensure accessibility of medicines for Ukrainians. According to this decision, the government, manufacturers and pharmacy chains will determine a list of 100 drugs for which prices will be reduced by 30% from March 1. It also provides for the establishment of a ban on marketing and promotion services related to the sale of medicines to the end consumer from March 1 until the Cabinet of Ministers introduces a separate abstracting of wholesale prices for all medicines.
Fulfilling the decision of the National Security and Defense Council, domestic manufacturers of the most popular drugs signed a declaration to reduce prices for the 100 most popular drugs by 30% from March 1. Among the signatories, in particular, are the Association of Producers of Medicines of Ukraine (APLU) and the pharmaceutical companies Pharmak, Borschagovsky Chemical Pharmzavod, Darnitsa, Arterium Corporation, Kiev Vitamin Plant, Yuriya-Pharm, Interhim, Kusum Pharm, and Viola Pharmaceuticals.
Later, in March, the Ministry of Health received additional proposals to reduce the prices of 273 drugs from 26 manufacturers, represented in the top-100 most popular drugs, the prices of which have been reduced since March 1. The proposals for 273 drugs were submitted by Pharma Start (Acipo company), Valartin Pharma, Astrafarm, Biopharma Plasma, and Infusion, “Pharmaceutical Firm “Zdorovye”, Pharmfirm “Viola”, JSC “Lekhim”, PJSC “Tekhnolog”, NPF “Microkhim” LLC, “Novopharm-Biosintez”, “Ternopharm”, “Lubnypharm”, “Pharmatrade”.
Appendix: Financial performance of nine manufacturers: balance of costs and expectations (in UAH mln)
Source: Interfax-Ukraine
Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group supplies steel products and cooperates with Italian shipbuilder T. Mariotti and steel construction manufacturer Cimolai. Mariotti and steel construction manufacturer Cimolai.
According to Metinvest, two twin ships – polar class expedition ships Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit – were built from Metinvest Trametal (Italy) steel for Seabourn Cruise Line.
It is specified that 10 thousand tons of Metinvest Trametal hot-rolled sheet were used for construction of Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit.
Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit are compact cruise ships with reinforced hull, which allows them to make voyages to the Arctic and Antarctic in the fall and summer seasons. They are equipped with modern equipment and technology, and each ship has two submarines on board. The ships are 172 meters long and 24 meters wide. They can accommodate 260 passengers and 120 crew members in 132 cabins.
Each ship has 10 decks, 8 of which are with passenger access.
It is also noted that the companies T. Mariotti and Cimolai have been cooperating with Metinvest for a long time.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. The group’s enterprises are located primarily in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The group has three rolling mills in Western Europe – Ferriera Valsider (Verona) and Metinvest Trametal (San Giorgio di Nogaro) in Italy and Spartan in the UK, as well as Promet Steel in Bulgaria.
The main shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it. Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
In March 2025, the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) paid UAH 13.517 billion to medical institutions providing primary and specialized medical care under the Medical Guarantee Program.
According to the NHSU, in particular, it paid UAH 878.5 million for emergency medical care, UAH 1.896 billion for primary medical care, and UAH 5.13 billion for the provision of priority services to specialized medical care facilities in February.
In addition, in March, the NHSU paid UAH 146.3 million to clinics under the package “Preparedness and provision of medical care to the population in the territory where hostilities are taking place” and UAH 808.6 million under the package “Transitional financial support for the provision of medical services by healthcare facilities”.
In March, the NHSU also paid UAH 526.8 million to pharmacies under the Affordable Medicines reimbursement program.
As reported, the state budget for 2025 provides more than UAH 175.5 billion for the Medical Guarantee Program (MGP). In particular, the MHG-2025 provides for the allocation of more than UAH 25 billion to pay for primary healthcare services, almost UAH 11 billion for emergency medical care, more than UAH 122 billion for specialized and palliative care, including more than UAH 6 billion for medical rehabilitation.
Tariffs for primary healthcare have been increased in the MTEF-2025. The basic capital rate will be UAH 844.4 instead of UAH 786.65 in 2024. In addition, the NHLP adds a rural coefficient of 1.1 to the base rate.
In addition, the NBU-2025 expands the reimbursement program “Affordable Medicines” – its budget will amount to UAH 6.6 billion.
The MTEF-2025 will cover 44 packages of healthcare services, including two new ones: radioisotope diagnostics for cancer diagnosis, including PET scans, as well as psychosocial and psychiatric care with the development of mental health centers and mobile multidisciplinary teams for adults and children.
