In 2023, the plants of Ostchem, a nitrogen holding company that unites Group DF’s nitrogen business, produced 2.1 million tons of mineral fertilizers, up 19.51% year-on-year.
According to a Group DF press release, Azot, the group’s Cherkasy-based plant, produced 1.56 million tons of mineral fertilizers in 2023, up 39.63% year-on-year, while Rivne Azot produced 528 thousand tons (-10.81%).
Urea, UAN and ammonium nitrate were the key fertilizers produced by Ostchem’s businesses, Group DF said.
According to the group, in 2023, it produced 835.9 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate, up 60.47% year-on-year, UAN – 572.7 thousand tons (+130%), and urea – 447.1 thousand tons (+145%). Production of UAN, a traditionally exported fertilizer produced by Rivne Azot, halved to 102 thousand tons.
“The fertilizer market is recovering, but imports of nitrogen fertilizers, which have increased significantly, do not allow us to fully utilize our plants. Despite the difficult situation in the agricultural sector, forced shutdowns of plants due to the hostilities, still high gas prices and abnormally high volumes of imports to Ukraine at dumping prices, Ostchem started to restore production in 2023. We fully met the demand from farmers even during peak periods,” said Sergiy Pavliuchuk, Production Director of Ostchem’s nitrogen business.
In 2023, Ostchem Holding doubled its production of UAN, the most promising fertilizer in Ukraine, to meet the demand. UAN was ranked second in terms of production, and its share in Ostchem’s product portfolio amounted to 27.3%, according to Group DF.
“It is no secret that we are negotiating with global players to develop several industrial sites. Our strategic plans include the construction of new workshops and enterprises. We are talking about investing in new, energy-efficient fertilizer production facilities and launching new products such as AdBlue, industrial gases, and petrochemicals,” added Pavliuchuk.
Commenting on the state of the domestic fertilizer market in Ukraine, Group DF said that the main feature of 2023 was the critical growth in imports imported at dumping prices. Compared to 2022, imports of mineral fertilizers to Ukraine increased 1.9 times, reaching 1.99 million tons. For example, urea imports increased 3.7 times over the year, reaching 501 thousand tons.
“A huge flow of cheap Belarusian and Russian fertilizers enters Ukraine through two channels: the first is from the former Soviet Union countries friendly to the aggressor. The second new channel is the re-export of Belarusian and Russian fertilizers from the EU. According to Eurostat, the total volume of nitrogen fertilizer imports to the EU increased by 34% in 2022-2023, while Russia accounted for about a third of these imports. Despite the sanctions and the existing embargo, a significant portion of these fertilizers is also entering Ukraine, slowly “killing” the Ukrainian producer and Ukrainian jobs,” emphasized Oleg Arestarkhov, Group DF’s Head of Corporate Communications.
In his opinion, the new trend is driven not only by Russia’s desire to expand its sales markets, but also by its strategic plan to make the EU and Ukraine dependent on its fertilizers.
Unable to compete with cheap imports, many EU companies are shutting down, and Ukrainian chemical companies such as Odesa Port and Sumykhimprom are also idle.
“The US and EU countries have already developed measures to ‘reduce dependence’ on fertilizers, grain and other food products from Russia. Formally, Ukraine has an embargo on imports of Russian and Belarusian fertilizers. However, fertilizers from these countries, as well as countries that buy cheap gas from Russia, continue to be supplied. As a result, our market is flooded with cheap imports, and Ukraine is facing critical dumping. Unfortunately, in 2023, we did not see any clear, tough economic actions by the authorities to protect the Ukrainian market and national producers. Fertilizer imports to the country are growing much faster than domestic production. Domestic production grew by about 20%, while imports grew by almost 100%,” stated Arestarkhov, adding that Ukraine needs to learn to better protect its interests.
Group DF consolidates Dmitry Firtash’s assets in the gas distribution, chemical, titanium and port industries, as well as in agriculture and media.
Ostchem is Group DF’s nitrogen holding company that unites the largest mineral fertilizer producers in Ukraine. It includes Rivne Azot, Cherkasy Azot, as well as Sievierodonetsk Azot and Stirol, which are not operating and are located in the occupied territories.
Cherkasy Azot PrJSC (Cherkasy, Ukraine) is one of the largest Ukrainian chemical companies and has been part of Group DF’s nitrogen business since 2011. The design production capacity of Cherkassy Azot is 962.7 thousand tons of ammonia, 970 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate, 891.6 thousand tons of urea, and 1 million tons of UAN per year.
Rivne Azot is one of the largest Ukrainian chemical companies in Western Ukraine and has been a part of Group DF’s Ostchem nitrogen holding since 2011. Since its acquisition, Firtash has invested over UAH 1.3 billion in Rivne Azot.
In 2023, Ukrzaliznytsia JSC (UZ) built 528 freight cars at its own facilities, which was a record figure for the last five years, the company’s press service said on Thursday.
It is noted that, in particular, 427 fitting platforms were manufactured. The company also started mass production of 50 dump cars and 50 hopper dispensers.
In addition, in 2023, at its own facilities, UZ built a grain carrier adapted for transportation on a 1520 mm gauge with a 1435 mm European gauge conversion. Most of the components and materials used for its construction were produced in Ukraine, the report says.
In 2023, UZ enterprises also increased the production of crushed stone by 33% (to 2.7 million tons) and sleepers by 6% (to 867 thousand units).
The production of reinforced concrete structures increased by 10.5% compared to 2022, to 6,937 thousand cubic meters, which was also a record for the last five years.
Among other things, last year UZ launched 47 new product lines. The company manufactured 37 thousand units of various products: girders and side girders, container stops, brake shoes, shock absorbers for the absorber, aluminum door frames, compressors, and generators for passenger cars. This allowed the company to save about UAH 120 million on external procurement, the company says.
“Plans for 2024 include a 15% increase in the volume of overhauls of locomotives at UZ plants and 8% increase in the volume of electric trains, an increase in crushed stone production through orders from third-party customers, and the development of new products and technologies,” Ukrzaliznytsia said in a statement.
Earlier, UZ announced the launch of a freight car fleet renewal program. The company planned to build 1,496 thousand freight cars in 2022 at its own car repair plants – Panyutyn, Darnytsia and Stryi: 1,446 thousand gondola cars and 50 grain carriers.
It was also reported that on December 28, 2021, the Ministry of Justice registered the order of the Ministry of Infrastructure No. 647, which launched a large-scale program to renew the freight car fleet of Ukraine in the period 2022-2031, introducing a phased limitation of their service life in a loaded state for as long as 10 years and bringing this period to the standard. The service life of gondola cars is reduced from 44 years to 22 years, and that of grain carriers from 45 years to 30 years.
In addition, this initiative envisaged the launch of a railcar construction program at Ukrainian railcar manufacturers. The volume of investments in the railcar industry was estimated at over UAH 120 billion.
In 2024, PJSC Ukrnafta plans to conduct 3D seismic surveys in the west and east of the country in areas with a total area of 320 square kilometers.
“In 2024, seismic surveys in the West are planned to cover 200 square kilometers at several license areas. In the eastern region, 3D surveys are planned at three fields with a total technological area of about 120 square kilometers,” the company said in a press release on Wednesday.
According to the company, Ukrnafta’s specialists will be able to create the most accurate geological models of the facilities and successfully drill new wells to increase production.
Currently, the company is conducting large-scale 3D seismic surveys in the west of the country over an area of 77 square kilometers.
“Modern technological equipment is used there – a wireless system with almost 19 thousand accelerometer sensors that work simultaneously,” the document says.
In the east, 98 square kilometers are being surveyed using a cable data logging system that includes 6,000 geophones (4,320 sensors are working simultaneously).
“Since both areas have difficult surface conditions – mountains in the West and wetlands, forests and rivers in the East – a combination of different types of sources: vibration and explosive, is used to minimize the loss of primary information and achieve the best possible results,” the company said.
As reported, in 2023, Ukrnafta increased oil and condensate production by 3% (+39.9 thousand tons) compared to 2022 – up to 1 million 409.9 thousand tons, gas production – by 5.8% (+60.4 million cubic meters), up to 1 billion 97.4 million cubic meters.
“Ukrnafta’s strategic goal is to double its oil and natural gas production to 3 million tons and 2 billion cubic meters by 2027, respectively.
“Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil producer and operator of a national network of 537 filling stations, of which 456 are in operation.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share. On November 5, 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer the corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is now managed by the Ministry of Defense, to the state.
2022-2024 goods trade balance forecast (USD billion)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The annual ranking of cities that were most active in realizing their assets on “Prozorro.Sales” in 2023 was headed by Zolotonosha in Cherkasy region, Balta in Odessa region and Kyiv, according to a release on Wednesday.
“State online auctions in 2023 helped earn at least 1.6 billion hryvnia to local budgets. This is an example of how increasing the capacity of each individual city or town brings us closer to the recovery of the country’s economy as a whole,” Deputy Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev said.
In total, the rating included 26 cities, the total income of communities of which amounted to almost 1 billion UAH.
“Local governments today are the drivers of change on the ground, many of them are actively involved in the programs implemented by the Ministry, aimed at business development. At the same time, communities have a great potential, which they can realize independently, successfully selling and leasing communal real estate and land through “Prozorro.Sales”, – added Sobolev
According to the CEO of “Prozorro.Sales” Sergey Buta, compared to the first year of full-scale invasion, in 2023 several dozen more cities returned to the realization of assets through the state online auctions “Prozorro.Sales”.
“A total of 334 territorial communities worked with the system in 2023, which announced more than 7.3 thousand successful bids for small privatization, leasing of communal property and leasing and sale of land. And this is an opportunity for communities to independently generate revenues to their budgets and attract businesses that buy and lease communal assets,” Bute added.
It is specified that local governments in Zolotonosha successfully held 61 auctions out of 78 announced last year. Thanks to online auctions the local budget received almost UAH 1.9 mln. 168 successful auctions brought Balta more than UAH 23.3 mln, and the capital budget in 2023 was replenished by more than UAH 141.4 mln following the results of almost half a thousand auctions.
Lutsk and Lubny were also in the top five cities with high efficiency of property management through online auctions: their city budgets earned more than UAH 12.5 million and almost UAH 4.8 million respectively from the sale of municipal assets.
Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Ternopil, Lviv and Kremenchuk formed the second five of the rating according to the results of 2023.
According to “Prozorro.Sales”, Lviv, which took the ninth place, attracted the most funds in the system among all cities last year: small privatization, rent and land brought almost UAH 160.4 million to its budget.
Larysa Lavreniuk, head of the Crab Charitable Foundation for Children with Cancer, told Interfax-Ukraine how the war affected the ability of children with cancer to receive medical care, how and what Ukrainian patients are treated abroad, and the need to develop rehabilitation for children who have undergone cancer treatment.
Text: Anna Levchenko
– How do you assess the situation with medical care for cancer patients, in particular children with cancer, today, almost two years into the full-scale war? Are there enough doctors and medicines?
– Unfortunately, oncology is not waiting, it has not disappeared, and the war has added delays in diagnosis and treatment. Regional onco-hematology departments do not refuse treatment, and if they do not have the resources to cope on their own, they refer children to the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital and the National Cancer Institute (NCRI), as was the case before the outbreak of full-scale war. The Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Center is also worth mentioning, as it has now become a place where children are sent abroad for treatment under the SAFER Ukraine program.
For about the first six months, from March 2022, there were no children in the pediatric oncology departments for treatment at all. Everyone was taken to clinics abroad. But then the initial referrals began, and the departments resumed assistance in establishing the diagnosis, and those who were not ready to go abroad for treatment began chemotherapy. Of course, there is a shortage of doctors, junior and middle staff in most hospitals. But this is due to the war and the way the hospital takes care of the staff. As for medicines: my parents always ran to pharmacies to buy vials or consumables that they needed right now. But I think that where this is the case, it’s just that the head nurse is not doing her job to the fullest.
If we talk about chemotherapy drugs, they are available, but their quality/effectiveness/evidence has not been controlled by the public for a long time, and the state has taken responsibility for this.
But I would like to note that now, when European clinics take our children for treatment free of charge for the family, they not only help children receive quality treatment, but it is also valuable because Ukrainians can avoid diverting resources and direct them to the needs of defending their country.
– How do Ukrainian patients and doctors perceive this program? What conclusion can be drawn from the program’s work for more than a year now?
– SAFER Ukraine is a humanitarian initiative of the St. Jude World Alliance, which is implemented through the global pediatric oncology community. The virtual command center operates around the clock, reviewing the received patient cards, and coordinators organize the transfer to the clinic that accepts the patient for treatment. Treatment is completely free for the family, with assistance with accommodation and social payments.
This initiative has become a serious support. And now I am not talking about a different quality of treatment, protocols, attitude, system…
I am not idealizing treatment abroad as a panacea and a guarantee of cure. I mean that for us, this whole story with treatment abroad had a very unexpected effect. A child is admitted for treatment to a clinic that accepts him or her. It will be a clinic with experience in treating this pathology. The child is examined, the diagnosis is double-checked, and the treatment path is studied. That is, the clinic is responsible for accepting the child for treatment. They do not just continue the treatment protocol that they started in Ukraine, but also take responsibility and are interested in the cure. This is what we tell parents of children with cancer, and we have contact with many parents and doctors. And it turned out to be unexpected for us that many children had their treatment protocols changed because they were treated according to outdated ones, while newer ones were available. Moreover, it turned out that some of the drugs used to treat children in Ukraine have long been discontinued in Europe, as they have been proven to be ineffective. Frankly speaking, it was a bit of a shock for us, we did not expect it, because we had heard from our doctors that they use modern European protocols.
I would like to emphasize that by order of the Ministry of Health, when a child is admitted to the department, parents must be informed that they have the right to receive treatment abroad. Moreover, parents have to sign that they have been informed about this possibility. And we know that it is possible to say that you are afraid of a foreign country…
– How do you assess the readiness of Ukrainian patients for treatment abroad?
– I believe that everyone who is primarily concerned about the outcome of treatment goes abroad under the SAFER Ukraine program. Even if I offend some parents with this, I will not change my mind, but I understand that they have the right to do what they do – it is their decision. As for me, it is better to adapt to new conditions while treating a child than to run into the hallway during anxiety, despite the child’s condition, being scared yourself and scaring the child.
But the parents’ decision does not affect our decision to help the child. We will support parents in any case. Parents of children with cancer need to understand that thanks to modern technology, there is no language barrier, and that abroad our mothers are asked to stay with their children, not to control the treatment process.
In general, people abroad are shocked by the skills of our mothers and their understanding of the treatment process.
– How many children with cancer in Ukraine go abroad for treatment?
– Frankly speaking, I would like to see 100% of them go, but some are afraid, some do not realize this possibility. As for the largest children’s hospitals, I can say that today there are 23 children in the NICU, 18 children in the pediatric oncology department of Okhmatdyt, some children in Verkhovyna, some in the Western Ukrainian Medical Center in Lviv, and some in regional oncohematology departments. According to our estimates, about 60% go abroad. And they go not only under the SAFER Ukraine program, but also on their own.
– How much does the transfer to the latest protocols increase the cost of treatment abroad?
– We can’t calculate this because patients in foreign clinics are treated at the expense of the state that received them. They don’t even know if there is a pharmacy in the clinic. And these are not only drugs, but also studies and therapies that are not available in Ukraine. But they are in the treatment protocols, and the clinic provides them. Each child is treated individually. It happened that a child was admitted to the hospital, and they believed that this child should not undergo an autotransplant because he or she was too underweight. Although the NRH insisted on this procedure. After private conversations, they explained to us that our children arrive extremely exhausted and heavy.
We would like the doctors who received our children to speak about this at their conferences, including SIOP, so that we could hear a real assessment of their condition and treatment to understand how well the main specialists of the Ministry of Health are doing their job.
– There is an opinion that foreign clinics accept those patients who have a chance, and do not take incurable patients? Do you agree with this?
– Everything is individual and each case has its own solutions. It is impossible to say so in general. If the patient is incurable, the family should consider whether to go abroad. A child can receive hospice support in Ukraine as well. But we have a boy who was denied treatment abroad under the SAFER Ukraine program because his discharge summary said he was a palliative patient. Of course, he continued to be treated at the NIR, and the prescribed drug is giving good results. However, this drug needs to be purchased, because the hospital does not have it. For one course, the child needs 4 vials worth UAH 156 thousand. And there should be more than 1-2 such courses. This case looks like some kind of manipulation on the part of our doctors or just someone who felt like God. There is no order of the Ministry of Health stating that palliative care patients cannot use the SAFER Ukraine program.
– How does the foundation work with clinics, what kind of help can they provide?
– It’s a pleasure to work with and we want to support those who are interested in development, learn and understand how and what they want to give for the benefit of the patient. We work primarily with such people. When we receive a request from a clinic, we monitor the problem and get to know them personally. If we see people who are passionate about their work, we support them.
This year we will continue to restore the transfusion department of the NIR. Their work has saved patients more than UAH 2 million over the past year: this is the amount patients would have spent on blood purchases. The Filatov Institute of Ophthalmology in Odesa received from us a repaired sensor for an intraocular ultrasound machine, which had been damaged during a patient examination: a child waved his hand and the sensor fell. And this is a leading ophthalmological institution in Ukraine. Now we have received a request from the speech therapists of the rehabilitation department of the NIHR to buy them equipment, and there are 182 items.
Our job is to be helpful in the details for the whole to function.
– What was the total amount of aid you provided in 2023? What are the priority areas for 2024?
– Over the past military year, the Foundation provided assistance worth UAH 3 million. All the reports are already available on the website and social pages.
This year, the priority will remain targeted assistance to patients, psycho-social support for children and parents undergoing treatment, such as creative workshops in the wards, and the Necklace of Courage project. We would also like to hold our annual meetings. There are intentions to develop rehabilitation or, rather, resocialization.
Today we are talking about a more complex and comprehensive rehabilitation after treatment. The goal is to restore the child as much as possible, help him or her to attend school independently, participate in entertainment with peers, return to school, be able to find a job he or she likes, not one that will be hired, and improve many other life situations.
