Ukraine’s retail trade turnover in January-September 2023 increased by 11.6% in comparable prices compared to the same period in 2022, the State Statistics Service (Ukrstat) reported.
According to the statistics agency, in September this year, retail turnover increased by 19.4% compared to September last year, which is less than in August, when it was 23.8%.
The State Statistics Service specifies that the turnover of retail trade enterprises (legal entities) in the first nine months of 2023 increased by 8.3% in comparative prices compared to the same period in 2022.
In particular, in September 2023, the growth was 14.9% compared to 19.3% in August.
According to the State Statistics Service, in nominal terms, Ukraine’s retail trade turnover amounted to UAH 1291.1 billion in January-September 2023, and retail trade enterprises’ turnover amounted to UAH 869.9 billion.
The State Statistics Service reminds that the data excludes the territories temporarily occupied by Russia and part of the territories where hostilities are (were) conducted.
As reported, in 2022, retail turnover in Ukraine fell by 21.4%.
According to information received by Ukrainian border guards on the evening of December 14, representatives of Slovak carriers unblocked truck traffic entering Slovakia at the Vysne Nemecke checkpoint for an indefinite period of time, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported on its Telegram channel.
“Since the end of the blockade, as of 09:00 on December 15, almost 60 trucks have been cleared to leave Ukraine through the Uzhhorod checkpoint, and another 1065 are in the electronic queue to leave Ukraine,” the statement said.
As reported, on December 11, Polish carriers ended the blockade in front of the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint.
The Union of Road Carriers of Slovakia (UNAS) blocked truck traffic through the only border checkpoint with Ukraine, Vysne Nemecke-Uzhhorod, from 15:00 on December 11.
In January-November this year, Ukraine reduced exports of carbon steel semi-finished products in physical terms by 39.5% year-on-year to 1 million 104,735 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), exports of carbon steel semi-finished products in monetary terms amounted to $562.108 million in the period (down 51%).
The main exports were made to Bulgaria (37.01% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (23.19%) and Italy (9.89%).
In January-November, Ukraine imported 96 tons of semi-finished products from China (98.26%) and Turkey (1.74%) for $172 thousand, in September-November 2022, imports amounted to 5,558 thousand tons of such products.
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine decreased exports of carbon steel semi-finished products in physical terms by 72% compared to the previous year – to 1 million 899.729 thousand tons, and in monetary terms by 70.9% – to $1 billion 191.279 million. The main exports were made to Bulgaria (26.55% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (13.97%) and Italy (12.13%).
In addition, Ukraine imported 5,558 thousand tons of similar products in 2022, which is 85.7% less than in 2021. In monetary terms, imports decreased by 86% to $3.634 million. Imports were carried out from the Russian Federation (96.92% of supplies before the war), China (1.84%), and Romania (1.21%).
President of the European Council Charles Michel said that the European Council has decided to start negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU.
“The European Council has decided to start negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova. The European Council has granted candidate status to Georgia. And the EU will start negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved, and invited the Commission to submit a report by March with a view to making such a decision,” he wrote on Twitter.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has tripled its grant support under the Competitive Economy of Ukraine program to $11 million, the Ministry of Economy reported on its website on Thursday.
It is noted that the decision was made taking into account the large number of applications and significant interest from processing enterprises.
The increase in funding will also increase the number of grants by about three times, to about 75.
It is specified that the grants will support businesses in the production of innovative products, modernization of production, reduction of manual labor, import substitution and export growth to fill niches previously occupied by Russian and Belarusian products, and localization of production of goods necessary for recovery.
USAID’s Competitive Economy Program supports Ukrainian businesses to improve their competitiveness in Ukraine’s domestic and international markets, helps build a simplified and transparent business climate, and provides Ukrainian companies with opportunities to take advantage of international trade.
Ukraine plans to start producing 50 thousand chips per month in three years after the start of construction of the factory, said Valeria Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration.
“We will thus meet the needs of the domestic market, as well as create a basis for exports,” she said at the presentation of Ukraine’s global innovation vision on Thursday.
According to her, chip production in Ukraine will supply most of the country’s industrial sectors.
At the same time, she did not name any specific dates for the start of construction.
Ionan noted that Ukraine will create a network of fabless companies (a company that does not have its own factory) for automated chip design, which will allow it to enter the chip market and take a position in the global semiconductor market.
For his part, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science, and Technology – Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said that the Ministry of Digital Transformation plans to develop and present a chip in 2024.
According to him, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is working with various companies in this direction, but no other details have been disclosed so far.
