In 2024, Ukraine increased its total imports of seeds of grains and oilseeds, sugar beets and vegetables to $381.3 million, which is 3.2% more than a year earlier, the press service of the National Research Center Institute of Agrarian Economics (IAE) reported.
According to the report, in 2024 Ukraine imported 8.6 thousand tons of grain seeds and 22.2 thousand tons of oilseeds totaling $302.3 million. Scientists noted that compared to 2023, the cost of imports of these crops decreased by 3.8%, but it is almost 2.5 times higher than domestic exports of seeds, which amounted to $122.6 million.
In addition, sugar beet seeds worth $50.1 million and vegetable seeds worth almost $28.9 million were purchased abroad.
“The volume of purchases of foreign-bred seeds of grains and oilseeds has been gradually decreasing since 2022, while imports of sugar beet and vegetable seeds have been on the rise for three consecutive years,” the scientists emphasized.
According to their information, in 2023, 727 tons of sugar beet seeds were imported for the amount of $32.8 million, and last year the volume of purchases of this type of agricultural products increased by 52.7% and amounted to almost 973 tons. At the same time, the price of sugar beet seeds in 2024 increased to $51493 per ton compared to $45117 per ton a year earlier.
According to the IAEA, the volume of imported seeds fully covers the needs of domestic farmers, as it will allow to allocate more than 300 thsd ha of farmland for sugar beet in 2025. For comparison, in 2023-2024, the area under sugar beet was 220-250 thousand hectares.
In addition, the value of imported vegetable seeds increased by 27.3% last year compared to the previous year and amounted to $28.9 mln. In physical terms, purchases increased by 17.2% to 945 tons.
“Thus, in 2024, due to the increase in the cost of purchasing sugar beet and vegetable seeds abroad, total seed imports increased by 3.2%. The increase in the cost of imports was largely due to the purchase of higher quality seeds and higher categories of additive and basic forms, which are traditionally several times more expensive than certified seeds of different years of certification,” the Institute of Agrarian Economics summarized.
Gold futures may rise in price to $3.2 thousand per ounce in the fourth quarter of this year amid increased demand for protective assets, according to analysts at Swiss bank UBS.
The previous forecast predicted an increase in quotations to $3 thousand per ounce, but futures overcame this mark last week.
The escalation of trade conflicts emphasizes the role of the precious metal as a safe haven asset, said UBS experts led by Wayne Gordon and Giovanni Staunovo. In their opinion, additional demand for gold will be spurred by fears of a recession in the United States.
“We continue to believe that the decision to have about 5% gold in the investment portfolio will be optimal from a long-term diversification perspective,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, DoubleLine Capital founder and chief investment officer Jeffrey Gundlach set an even more optimistic target price for gold at $4,000 per ounce.
“Gold is continuing the rally we’ve been talking about for several years now,” said the investor, who has been nicknamed the ”King of Bonds. – “I will make a bold prediction and say that gold will reach $4 thousand.
Gundlach added that he was not sure it would happen this year. At the same time, he noted that gold purchases by central banks are growing “on a very, very sharp trajectory,” and this is unlikely to change in the near future.
In his opinion, the probability of a recession in the US economy this year is about 60%.
April gold futures are little changed in price on Monday afternoon and are trading at $3002.8 per ounce. Since the beginning of the year, the price of gold has risen by 12.7%.
According to MarketWatch, in January 1980, at the height of a period of particularly high inflation in the United States, which exceeded 14%, gold prices reached $873 per ounce. Adjusted for inflation in today’s money, this amounts to about $3,580 thousand per ounce, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
PrJSC Novovolynsk Foundry (NLMK, Volyn region) plans to use its net profit in 2024 for development and working capital replenishment.
According to NLMK’s announcement that it will hold a remote general meeting of shareholders on April 18, the shareholders will review the reports of the management board, supervisory board and auditor for 2024 and make decisions based on the results of such reviews.
In addition, shareholders will approve the results of financial and economic activities for the past year and determine the distribution of profits. It is proposed not to pay dividends based on the results of last year’s work, and to use the net profit for modernization and renewal of fixed assets, development of the enterprise and replenishment of working capital. The amount of profit is not specified.
In addition, the shareholders will determine the main activities of NLMK, approve the work plan for 2025, and decide to terminate the powers of the chairman and members of the company’s supervisory board and elect new ones.
It is planned to give preliminary consent to enter into significant transactions.
NLMK specializes in the production of steel and iron castings for the machine building industry, as well as in the provision of machining services.
According to the third quarter of 2024, Dnister-M LLC (Lviv region) owns 86.6392% of the shares in Novovolynsk Foundry.
The authorized capital of the company is UAH 1 million 568.06 thousand, the par value of the share is UAH 0.25.
In 2024, “Insurance Company ‘ARX’ PrJSC (ARX, Kyiv) collected gross insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 4.280 billion, which is 15.94% more than a year earlier.
These statistics are available on the website of RA Standard-Rating on the update of the company’s credit rating/financial strength (reliability) rating at uaAAA according to the national scale in 2024.
Income from individuals increased by 13.20% to UAH 2.617 billion, and from reinsurers increased 2.2 times to UAH 14.268 million. Thus, at the end of 2024, the share of individuals in the insurer’s gross premiums amounted to 61.14%, and the share of reinsurers – 0.33%.
In 2024, insurance payments sent to reinsurers increased by 15.74% compared to 2023 – up to UAH 114.375 million. The ratio of participation of reinsurance companies in insurance premiums of IC “ARKS” practically did not change and amounted to 2.67% in 2024.
RA notes that net written premiums increased by 15.94% to UAH 4.166 billion, and net earned insurance premiums increased by 16.18% to UAH 3.895 billion.
The volume of insurance claims paid by the company in 2024 increased by 24.23% compared to 2023, to UAH 1.720 billion. Thus, the level of payments increased by 2.69 p.p. to 40.19%.
Profit from operating activities amounted to UAH 170.090 million, and net profit amounted to UAH 452.835 million.
As of January 1, 2025, the company’s assets increased by 17.70% to UAH 5.220 billion, equity showed an increase of 20.77% to UAH 2.633 billion, liabilities increased by 14.73% to UAH 2.587 billion, cash and cash equivalents increased 4.16 times to UAH 817.524 million.
The RA also reports that as of the beginning of 2025, the insurer made financial investments in the amount of UAH 2.922 billion, which consisted of government bonds and government bonds (81.76% of the investment portfolio) and deposits in banks with investment grade credit ratings (18.24% of the portfolio), which had a positive impact on the provision of liquid assets, which exceeded the liabilities of IC “ARKS” by 1.45 times.
“ARKS” Insurance Company is a part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. The company has been a leader in the hull insurance segment of the Ukrainian market for 13 years.
Passenger traffic across the Ukrainian border in the second week of spring, from March 8 to 14, decreased by a total of 3% in both directions to 427 thousand in comparison with the previous week.
According to the State Border Guard Service’s Facebook page, the number of exit crossings decreased from 222,000 to 216,000, while the number of entry crossings decreased from 218,000 to 211,000.
The number of vehicles crossing the checkpoints decreased from 117,000 to 115,000, while the flow of vehicles with humanitarian cargo decreased from 621,000 to 543,000.
According to the State Border Guard Service, as of 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, there were small queues of 10 cars at the Uzhhorod checkpoint on the border with Slovakia, at the Ustyluh checkpoint on the border with Poland, and at the Luzhanka and Vylok checkpoints on the border with Hungary.
In addition, at the Krakivets checkpoint, there is an accumulation of vehicles entering Ukraine, which may lead to an increase in waiting time, the border guards added.
The total number of people crossing the border this week in 2025 is slightly higher than last year: 209 thousand people left and 207 thousand entered Ukraine in the same seven days, with a traffic flow of 116 thousand. Last year, in the third week of spring, passenger traffic increased by 7.9%, and with the onset of spring school holidays next week, it increased by another 19.8%.
As reported, on May 10, 2022, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine, which began with the outbreak of war, was replaced by an influx that lasted until September 23, 2022 and amounted to 409 thousand people. However, since the end of September, possibly under the influence of news about mobilization in Russia and “pseudo-referendums” in the occupied territories, and then massive shelling of energy infrastructure, the number of people leaving has been exceeding the number of people entering. In total, from the end of September 2022 to the first anniversary of the full-scale war, it reached 223 thousand people.
In the second year of the full-scale war, the number of border crossings to leave Ukraine, according to the State Border Guard Service, exceeded the number of crossings to enter by 25 thousand, while in the third year – by 187 thousand, and since the beginning of the fourth year – by another 26 thousand.
As Deputy Economy Minister Serhiy Sobolev noted in early March 2023, the return of every 100,000 Ukrainians home results in a 0.5% increase in GDP.
In its January inflation report, the National Bank estimated the outflow from Ukraine in 2024 at 0.5 million (0.315 million according to the State Border Guard Service). In absolute terms, the number of migrants staying abroad will increase to 6.8 million in 2024.
The NBU also maintained its outflow forecast for 2025 at 0.2 million.
According to updated data from the UNHCR, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of February 19, 2025, was estimated at 6.346 million, and 6.907 million worldwide, which is 43 thousand more than as of January 16.
In Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data, 3.665 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), including approximately 160 thousand people, were displaced from the frontline areas in the east and south between May and October 2024 due to the intensification of hostilities.
In February 2025, the Export Credit Agency (ECA) supported UAH 478.6 million of exports by insuring export loans for Ukrainian producers in the amount of UAH 61.3 million and a foreign trade agreement worth UAH 49.4 million.
According to the ECA website, seven exporters used its services, with Oschadbank providing UAH 51.3 million in financing (UAH 298.5 million of supported exports) and Kredobank providing UAH 10 million (UAH 130.65 million of exports).
This time, the leading regions were Zaporizhzhia (UAH 230.4 million of future export revenue), Ternopil (UAH 130.65 million), and Chernihiv (UAH 41.6 million).
These businesses produce and export paper and cardboard, plastics and polymeric materials, land transport vehicles, and various food products to France, Romania, Uzbekistan, India, and Estonia.
The Export Credit Agency was established to stimulate the export of goods (works, services) of Ukrainian origin and support Ukrainian resident exporters by providing insurance, reinsurance, and guarantees under contracts that ensure export development. On January 7, 2023, the National Bank of Ukraine was authorized to regulate the activities of the ECA.
