KYIV. Nov 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine has held its first talks with the largest global tourists’ online resource TripAdvisor on the expansion of its operation to cover the entirety of Ukraine, Advisor to the Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Ivan Liptuha has said.
“Today, we held the first talks on expansion of partnership to all of Ukraine in the London office of TripAdvisor,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Liptuha said that three years ago, the Tourism of Odesa association signed an agreement with TripAdvisor for an unbiased appraisal of hotels and restaurants in Odesa, with the association also receiving analytical materials.
Every year, on September 27, the city and the association issues awards to the top ten hotels, restaurants and attractions under the TripAdvisor rating, he said.
Liptuha said that expansion of the partnership with TripAdvisor to cover all of Ukraine would mean that statistics and analysis of online resources would be used to ensure unbiased ratings on the basis of the real feedbacks of guests.
Additionally, it is planned to launch the Ukrainian language version of www.tripadvisor.ua and integrate its tools with the national tourist portal, he said.
Liptuha noted that the expansion of cooperation will include seminars for hoteliers and restaurateurs on optimizing their sales, increasing feedback, and to award the best hotels, restaurants and attractions under the TripAdvisor rating.
KYIV. Nov 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine in January-October 2015 exported 23,795 tonnes of pork, which is 3.8 times more than in the same period in 2014.
According to customs statistics made public by the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, in monetary terms exports of these products during the first ten months of the year was $49 million.
Pork imports amounted to 3,442 tonnes against 28,500 tonnes a year earlier. In monetary terms imports for the ten months 2015 totaled $7.631 million.
Exports of poultry and by-products decreased by 4%, to 136,902 tonnes. Poultry exports amounted to $193.324 million.
At the same time, imports amounted to 47,312 tonnes ($30.616 million), which is 0.47% higher than in January-October 2014, which amounted to 47,090 tonnes worth $45.7 million.
KYIV. Nov 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine in January-October 2015 exported electricity worth $125.689 million, in particular in October for $9.298 million.
According to the State Fiscal Service, Hungary in the ten months this year was supplied electricity worth $121.797 million, Poland for $1.672 million, Slovakia for $1.115 million, other countries for $1.105 million.
In January-October 2014 Ukraine exported electricity worth $433.559 million, in particular to Hungary for $194.308 million, Belarus for $161.211 million, Moldova for $47.397 million, other countries (Poland, Slovakia and Romania) for $40.643 million.
In addition, in January-October 2015 Ukraine imported electricity worth $76.981 million, in particular, imports from Russia cost $76.974 million, from Moldova $7,000.
In October 2015 Ukraine imported Russian electricity for $4.279 million.
KYIV. Nov 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – State-controlled Oschadbank (Kyiv) has acted as a guarantor of the agreements between Ukrainian agrarians and BTG Pactual Commodities (based in Ukraine and part of the international Brazilian group of companies BTG Pactual), which specializes in the purchase of agricultural products in Ukraine, according to a press release issued by the bank.
According to the report, in the third quarter of this year the bank provided refund guarantees for advance payments in the amount of $3 million for small, medium, and large sized agribusinesses.
“One of the priority problems of agribusiness is the difficulty in small and medium agricultural producers obtaining sufficient funding inside and outside the country. Therefore, the successful implementation of such transactions is not only an effective instrument to attract the necessary funds for agricultural producers but also the means to stimulate the inflow of foreign currency earnings to Ukraine,” the bank said.
BTG Pactual financial company was founded in Brazil in 1983. It is involved in investment banking, capital and asset management, and has offices in four continents.
KYIV. Nov 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Health Minister of Ukraine Alexander Kvitashvili has signed a UAH 750 million agreement on medicine procurement using budget funds with Britain’s Crown Agents international procurement development agency.
The agreement was signed in Kyiv on November 6.
Under the agreement, the agency will buy medicines under adult and children cancer treatment programs.
“We hope that starting from the procurement cycle of next year all procurement tenders will be passed over to international organizations,” Kvitashvili said.
Senior Consultant of Crown Agents Christine Jackson then told reporters that the procurement procedure could have actually started on November 6.
An announcement will be posted on the websites of the Health Ministry and Crown Agents, inviting all suppliers of cancer treating medicines to take part in the tender.
Jackson expressed hope that there will be many offers.
She said that bidders are to meet tough conditions foreseen in the agency’s procedures.
“International criteria will be observed. We believe that medicines that will be bought will meet these criteria,” she said.
“This is an open process for everyone who will respond to our announcement,” she said.
As reported, the Health Ministry plans to buy medicines through UNICEF to the tune of UAH 800 million. The ministry has already transferred UAH 620 million to UNDP for procurements. In general, the ministry said, international organizations are expected to handle medicine procurements worth UAH 2.197 billion.
KYIV. Nov 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Denmark will create an investment fund to support small and medium businesses in Ukraine, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin has stated.
“We had very good talks with [Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark] Kristian Jensen. There will be created a Danish investment fund to support small and medium businesses in Ukraine,” Klimkin wrote on his Twitter page.
As reported, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Kristian Jensen during talks with Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin admitted the possibility of increasing investment in Ukraine and technical assistance for Ukrainian reforms.
