KYIV. June 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Azerbaijan is interested in expanding cooperation with Ukraine in aircraft building. The country is working on the organization of assembly of new Ukrainian transport aircraft An-178 with a carrying capacity of up to 18 tonnes designed by Kyiv-based Antonov State Enterprise at own production facilities.
President of CJSC Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Jahangir Askerov told reporters on Monday in Hostomel (Kyiv region) that his government is mulling the issue of organizing cooperation assembly of promising transport aircraft An-178 in Azerbaijan.
“On behalf of the government I am authorized to say that Azerbaijan is interested in assembling An-178 on the territory of Azerbaijan,” he said.
Askerov said that in May 2015 Antonov and Azerbaijan’s Silk Way Airlines signed a contract to assembly 10 transport aircraft An-178 in Ukraine and ship them to the airlines. The first two planes are to be delivered by late 2018 under the contract and the rest of eight planes will be shipped upon a mutual agreement of the parties.
“We hope that by the middle of 2018 when we receive the first plane, production facilities [for assembling An-178 in Azerbaijan] would be ready,” he added.
Antonov President Mykhailo Hvozdev said that the plans to expand cooperation under the An-178 program worked out with Azerbaijan do not foresee the sale of An-178 technologies to the foreign partner. This is cooperation production. The plane will be finally assembled in Azerbaijan, he said.
The An-178 is suggested as a replacement of medium four-engine turboprop transport aircraft An-12. The An-178 could also replace the C-160 European two-engine turboprop transport in some regions.
Around 200 companies from 15 countries are involved in production cooperation under the An-178 program.
An-178 aircraft was first exhibited at Le Bourget 2015 (Paris, France) and then at Dubai Air Show 2015 (the UAE). The plane participated in the flight program of ILA Berlin Air Show 2016 (Germany).
KYIV. June 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Electricity exports from Ukraine to Belarus will be handled by state-run Ukrainian enterprise Ukrinterenergo, the press service of the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry has said.
“One of the most important issues discussed at the meeting [between Ukraine’s Energy and Coal Industry Minister Ihor Nasalyk and Belarus’ First Deputy Energy Minister Shenets in Mink on June 6] is the resumption of power exports from Ukraine to Belarus, which were suspended in November 2014. The sides have determined that state-run Ukrinterenergo will handle the electricity exports,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, a draft Cabinet resolution on boosting electricity exports is now undergoing agreement with the executive agencies, and after it is approved, they will determine timeframe and volumes of power exports to Belarus.
KYIV. June 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s state service for food safety and consumer protection reports about a letter from the Embassy of Ukraine in the South African Republic inviting shipments of Ukrainian pork.
“The regulator has received an official letter from Ukraine’s embassy in the South African Republic with an offer to import [Ukrainian] pork. That offer was a pleasant surprise. One should be aware that access to that market is not easy – there are many food-related regulations,” head of the service Volodymyr Lapa is quoted by an announcement on the service’s website as saying.
In his words, Ukraine will first have to fill in a detailed questionnaire, and then prove its effective control of African swine fever in its territory.
As was reported with reference to Ukrainian customs reports, in 2015, Ukraine almost tripled pork exports, to 27,170 tonnes, while pork imports plunged by 88.1%, to 3,690 tonnes.
Last year, Ukraine cut poultry exports by 7.7%, to 161,284 tonnes. Poultry imports grew by 0.4% from 2014, to 61,250 tonnes.
KYIV. June 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A large Ukrainian brewery, Persha Pryvatna Brovarnia, despite the decline of the beer market, seeks to boost its production by 16% in 2016 and by 46% in money terms.
“In 2015 we grew by 11% in liters and 43% in money terms. According to Nielsen, our share of the market in April 2016 was 12.6% and 13.1% in liters and money terms respectively. In Kyiv we are ahead of Obolon, in Lviv we are second with 25% of the market,” the owner of the brewery Andriy Matsola said in an interview with Business publication.
Commenting on the sources of financing, Matsola said that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is amid its partners. The company is mulling long-term cooperation programs with the bank.
“Our business could be built only on cheap money. We will do this on the existing production facilities,” the businessman said.
He said that the decline of the Ukrainian beer market in 2016 would be 13-15%, while in 2014 it decreased by 21% and in 2015- by 23%.
Matsola said that breweries are guilty in the beer market fall as they offer many large containers at low prices and this affects beer consumption culture.
“When they sell 2.4 liter for UAH 21, consumers think that beer is a product needed only for getting drunk,” he said.
Persha Pryvatna Brovarnia LLC (First Private Brewery) was established in 2004. It operates two breweries – in Lviv and Radomyshl (Zhytomyr region) – with a total capacity of 2 million hectoliters of beer per year.
KYIV. June 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The new Ukrainian An-178 transport aircraft with carrying capacity of 18 tons has made its debut in the summer program of ILA Berlin Air Show 2016 in Germany.
The new Ukrainian aircraft performed aerobatic elements in extremely adverse weather conditions, the press service of the Antonov State Enterprise reported.
“Because of the bad weather, the demonstration flights were allowed only to the European Airbus A400M and Ukrainian Antonov An-178, which made its debut in the flight program of the international exhibition,” the press service said.
The new An-178 aircraft is created to replace An-12 planes and is designed for the effective fulfillment of its tasks as a transport aircraft, including logistics and transportation of equipment. Some experts say the An-178 aircraft can serve as a modern replacement of the C-160. The aircraft has a modified form of fuselage, a ramp for loading and unloading of bulky cargo and can lift up to 18 tons of cargo, including heavy maritime containers. The industrial cooperation program for the An-178 involves about 200 companies from fifteen countries. The Antonov Enterprise is promoting the aircraft in the Middle East and Central Asia. The United Arab Emirates, China and Azerbaijan expressed interest in the new Ukrainian transport aircraft.
The An-178 aircraft premiered at Le Bourget 2015 outside Paris, where it was one of the major events. It was also showcased at Dubai Air Show 2015 in the UAE.
ILA Berlin Air Show, which takes place in Berlin on June 1-4 is one of Europe’s largest specialized exhibitions. According to the organizers, this year the air show is attended by 1,200 companies from 40 countries.
In addition to the An-178, Ukraine presents the An-132 new multipurpose aircraft, the An-148/158 special purpose aircraft and the An-70 transport aircraft at ILA Berlin Air Show 2016.
KYIV. June 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has declared macrofinancial stabilization has been achieved in the country.
“I believe the main achievement is achievement of macrofinancial stabilization, without which progress would be impossible. This is a constant, gradual increase in foreign exchange reserves without participation of our partners, the International Monetary Fund or international financial institutions,” Poroshenko said at a press conference in Kyiv.
According to the head of state, just today, on June 3, “we bought $10 million, the day before yesterday $60 million… Over the past two months the figure significantly exceeded $1 billion.”
Poroshenko noted these figures clearly reflect guaranteed financial stabilization in the Ukrainian market.
“We already have the first result of this financial stability: it’s agreements with the IMF and the approval by the parliament of the law scrapping taxation of pensions […] Few results have been achieved so far,” the president said.
“I am setting the government a task: we need to transition from survival policies to a development strategy policy […] from the macrofinancial improvements we have now achieved to economic growth,” he said.
In this regard, the president recalled Ukraine is looking to ensure a 1.1% GDP growth this year, with inflation not exceeding 12%.
“We already have positive [GDP] dynamics in the first quarter […] We are optimistic about the future as it regards targeting the annual inflation level of 12%,” Poroshenko said.
Poroshenko said achieving these goals will make it possible to achieve an 8% inflation level in 2017.
