Over the past 25 years, Ukraine has increased its total oilseed processing capacity by 9.2 times, from 2.6 million tons to 24 million tons, and significantly increased the production of raw materials, said Stepan Kapshuk, CEO of the Ukroliyaprom Association, at the XXI International Conference Fat&Oil Industry-2023.
As reported on the website of the Agrarian and Industrial Reforms, citing Kapshuk, Ukraine’s sunflower processing capacity is currently about 18 million tons, and rapeseed and soybean – 2 million tons.
Sunflower production has increased from 2.26 million tons in 1998 to a projected 14 million tons in 2023. This year’s rapeseed production is expected to reach 4.1 million tons against 0.13 million tons in 2000, and soybeans – 4.7 million tons against 0.06 million tons, respectively.
Mr. Kapshuk said that over the past 25 years, 70 new processing plants have been built in Ukraine, including 40 large ones, as well as 16 vegetable oil transshipment terminals. The industry has attracted investments worth more than $4 billion.
In 2023/2024 marketing year, Ukrainian oilseed processing companies will be able to process 15.6 mln tons of oilseeds, including 13.5 mln tons of sunflower, 1.5 mln tons of soybeans and 600 thsd tonnes of rapeseed. At the same time, sunflower oil production is expected to reach 6 million tons, soybean oil – 0.3 million tons, and rapeseed oil – 0.25 million tons, according to Ukroliyaprom.
Sukhaya Balka mine (Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro region), part of Aleksandr Yaroslavsky’s DCH Group, has commissioned a new block with 45,000 tonnes of iron ore reserves at Frunze mine.
According to a report in DCH Steel’s corporate newspaper on Thursday, the new production unit involved modern self-propelled equipment such as drilling rigs and a loader. The use of the equipment in the production process will help reduce costs and increase efficiency.
It is specified that the block is located at the minus 1200 m horizon of the Druzhba deposit. Its reserves amount to 45 thousand tons of raw materials with a high iron content of 62.9%. Blocks 51-57 are being developed using self-propelled equipment.
The miners plan to develop the industrial unit by the end of the year.
As reported, the deposit at Frunze mine was developed by open pit mining. Frunze has been mined by open pit since 1885. The mine was built in 1962. The design ore quality is 61.88% iron content.
Sukha Balka mine is one of the leading mining companies in Ukraine. It produces iron ore by underground mining. The mine includes Yubileynaya and Frunze mines.
DCH Group acquired the mine from Evraz Group in May 2017.
In January-September 2023, the state-owned company for the import and export of military and special services Ukrspetsexport earned a net profit of UAH 88.28 million, almost three times more than in the same period in 2022 (UAH 22.21 million).
According to the interim financial report of the state-owned company in the NSSMC disclosure system, net income increased by 91.9% to UAH 22 billion 028 million.
The company earned UAH 196.08 million in profit from operating activities, up 2.3 times, and gross profit doubled to UAH 1 billion 113 million.
At the same time, according to the company’s report to the NSSMC, in the first half of this year, Ukrspetsexport increased its net profit by 3.5 times compared to January-June 2022, to UAH 66.75 million, with net income growing by 2.8 times, to UAH 15 billion 159 million.
Thus, according to the results of the third quarter, the net profit of the state-owned company increased 7.3 times by July-September 2022 to UAH 21.53 million, while net income increased by 14.8% to UAH 6 billion 869.5 million.
As reported, in March 2022, Ukrspetsexport and its two subsidiaries, the specialized foreign trade company Progress and the foreign trade enterprise Spetstechnoexport, were temporarily excluded from the state concern Ukroboronprom and transferred to the Ministry of Defense by a government decision.
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, in 2022, the state-owned company reduced its net profit by almost 2.5 times compared to 2021, to UAH 49.87 million, and its net income increased 12 times, to UAH 24 billion 174 million.
At the beginning of this year, the company employed 366 people (427 a year earlier).
Ovostar Union, one of the leading producers of eggs and egg products in Ukraine, increased sales of its main products in dollar terms by approximately 42.4% in 9M2023 due to higher prices for eggs and liquid egg products and increased sales of liquid egg products.
According to the operational report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Thursday, compared to 9 months of last year, the number of eggs produced was 3.5% less – 1,148 million, of which 734 million eggs were sold in shells (-10.9%). At the same time, exports in the egg segment increased to 280 million from 223 million, and its share in egg sales rose to 38% from 27%.
At the same time, the average selling price of shell eggs in dollar terms increased to $0.114/egg from $0.076/egg a year earlier.
According to the report, during the reporting period, Ovostar increased egg processing by 4.4% to 354 million eggs. The output of dry and liquid egg products amounted to 1906 tons and 9374 tons, respectively, while a year earlier this figure was 2239 tons and 7609 tons.
Sales of dry egg products amounted to 1822 tons, up 13.1% year-on-year, of which 1300 tons, or 71%, were exported, compared to 1083 tons and 67%, respectively, a year earlier.
Sales of liquid egg products increased by 20.4% to 9,053 tons, of which 44% or 3,986 tons were exported, while in the first nine months of 2022 Ovostar exported 41% of its liquid egg products, or 3,117 tons.
It is specified that the average selling price of dry egg products decreased slightly to $8.59/kg from $8.63/kg in January-September 2022, while the average selling price of liquid egg products increased by 31% to $2.40/kg.
These figures bring the sales volume of main products in January-September this year to $168.3 million, which is 42.4% higher than in January-September 2022. Sales growth was 56.1% in the first half of the year and 68.1% in the first quarter.
The company also reported an increase in the number of poultry by 8.5% to 7.42 million, including laying hens by 9.2% to 6.28 million.
“Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Group managed to increase its livestock by 8% year-on-year in the first 9 months of 2023. The management is working to bring the production and sales structure in line with the market situation, which has led to good operating results,” commented Boris Belikov, CEO of the company.
As reported, in 2022, Ovostar reduced its egg production by 9% to 1.55 billion eggs, and sales by 6% to 1.08 billion eggs. At the same time, sales of dry egg products decreased by one third to 2.13 thousand tons, and liquid egg products by 26% to 10.62 thousand tons.
In 2022, the company earned $6.09 million in net profit, which is 3.7 times more than in 2021. Its revenue increased by 1.7% to $135.63 million last year.
In the first half of 2023, Ovostar earned $20.63 million in net profit, while the same period in 2022 ended with a net loss of $19.78 million. Its revenue for the first six months of this year increased by 56.8% to $88.69 million, mainly due to higher prices for its products.
Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar will focus on the development of LTE technology. (Long Term Evolution – wireless network with higher requirements and bandwidth from 10 Mbps), by 2026 the coverage level in Ukraine will be brought to 98%.
“Our goal is to achieve 98% LTE coverage by population by 2026. It’s different now, depending on the region. But, for example, in the Kiev region it is 97%, and on the highway Kiev-Chop 95%”, – said the President of “Kyivstar” Alexander Komarov to journalists.
He specified that increasing the coverage even by 1% requires huge efforts and construction of hundreds of new sites (sites), including greenfield (from scratch, – IF-U).
“Kyivstar is implementing the “LTE everywhere” project in Ukraine, including the $600 million investment from its parent company VEON, Komarov specified.
“We believe that this will be the key technology for the next 5-7 years. It will transmit the largest amount of internet or data of our consumers. That is why we are implementing this project now, and its main focus is coverage”, – specified the president of Kyivstar.
According to him, Kyivstar focuses on three key areas: network development, technology development, and improvement of communication quality. Among other things, Kyivstar is developing PON technology (modern technology of high-speed data transmission via fiber-optic communication lines, which implies connection of all subscribers’ devices through one optical cable and gives an opportunity to simultaneously use several telecommunication services: Internet, TV and telephone – IF-U).
Komarov noted that since new technologies require an increase in the number of sites, through construction, the number of sites has already reached pre-war levels.
“As I said, we are actually building many times more than our competitors – bigger and faster. I will tell you this: despite the loss of 7% of the network (due to the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation – IF-U) we are currently serving the same number of sites as we were before the war. The part that we lost, we have already fully resumed,” Komarov said.
“Kyivstar is Ukraine’s largest electronic communications operator, serving 24 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million Home Internet subscribers as of September. The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, services for cyber defense, and digital TV.
Kyivstar’s shareholder is the international VEON group, whose shares are listed on the NASDAQ (New York) and Euronext (Amsterdam) stock exchanges.
The number of objects in the active stage of realization in the Kiev region for the year increased by 8.3%, up to 221, in the capital decreased by 4%, down to 175, said the founder of M4U Vladimir Danilenko to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”.
According to analytical data of the company M4U, in 2023 prices in the primary real estate market have not changed significantly.
“In October-2023, the average cost per square meter of primary real estate in Kiev is 61.8 thousand UAH. This is only 2.2% more than in October last year, and 0.3% less than at the beginning of this year. In the Kiev region, the average price per square meter rose to 32.3 thousand UAH, which is 2.3% higher than in the corresponding period last year and 1.8% higher than at the beginning of the year”, – said Danylenko.
He added that in the capital the number of new buildings in the active stage of construction continues to decline: a year ago there were 185, at the beginning of the year 182, now 175. As before, the most residential complexes in the active stage of construction and sales are located in Goloseevsky (28 LCD), Pechersky (27) and Shevchenko (25) districts of Kiev. The least of all – in Desnyanskyi (10), Svyatoshynskyi and Obolonskyi (11 each) districts. The majority of offers in the market are concentrated in the price range of 36-44 thousand UAH/sq. m, among them traditionally prevail offers of comfort class apartments.
“If we look at the schedule of price changes during the year, we will notice a slight correction in almost all classes. The decrease in the cost per square meter began in March, but in late summer-early fall prices began to recover to the level of the beginning of the year,” said Danilenko.
For example, a square meter of economy-class real estate for the year rose in price by 5.2%, to 35.64 thousand UAH, but compared to April this year has fallen in price by 1%.
In comfort class the changes are quite insignificant: +1% for the year and only +0.7% for six months, now UAH 45.1 thousand. In business class real estate today costs an average of UAH 73.9 thousand per square meter – 2.2% less than a year earlier and 6.3% less than at the beginning of this year.
In the segment of elite real estate (142.6 thousand UAH/sq. m) also continues to decrease in prices: by 2% compared to the same period last year, by 2.8% compared to the beginning of 2023. The biggest decrease in this segment was observed in spring, since then a square meter went up by 2.9%.
According to Danilenko, the reasons for this correction are traditional for recent times: a slight change in the exchange rate (affecting part of the supply, where prices are linked to the exchange rate), which came in April-July, the reaction of developers to a decrease in demand during and after the May strikes.
“Last year, the main reason for the price increase was the rise in production costs, adjustment of project estimates. This year both currencies and the economic situation in Ukraine are generally more stable, and market factors of price growth are absent. Moreover, the vast majority of developers, in an effort to attract customers, offer larger or smaller discounts on real estate. This leads to periodic price fluctuations, for example, in the “business” and “elite” segments, where the margin allows such actions,” he said.
The expert stated that the market is gradually changing under the influence of wartime realities. The answer to the increase in demand for more budget housing, including with repair, is likely to be the reorientation of part of the demand to the nearest suburbs, as it was in 2014-2015.
In Kyiv region the number of objects in the active stage of realization for the year increased by 8.3%, up to 221. However, this is still below the pre-war figures – in January 2022 there were 263 such objects.
“To restore work somewhat more actively, compared to the capital, suburban developers are helped by participation in the program “eOselia”. In Kyiv region there are much more objects that meet the criteria of the program, and due to the more affordable price they are in high demand, in particular among internally displaced Ukrainians,” explains Danylenko.
The average price per square meter in Kyiv region rose to 32.3 thousand UAH, which is 2.3% higher than the prices of the corresponding period last year and 1.8% higher than the prices of the beginning of the year.
According to M4U research, unlike Kyiv, most real estate segments in the region demonstrate an upward trend. The only exception is business class, but even there the cost per square meter has been growing over the last three months – up to UAH 35.2 thousand (less by 4.9% than a year ago, but 3% higher than in July-2023).
A square meter of economy class in the suburbs rose in price to UAH 28.3 thousand, or by 5.3% compared to October last year, and for the last six months – by 0.9%. In comfort class (UAH 31.6 thousand) for the year the average price growth amounted to 5.6%, for six months – 4.1%. In the segment of real estate positioned as elite (UAH 45.8 thousand), the price increased by 3.6% over the year, of which by 1.9% over the last six months.
Most apartments are sold in the price range of UAH 26-32 thousand per square meter. As in Kyiv, most of them belong to the comfort class. Most of all new LCDs are being built and sold in Irpen (39 LCDs), Sofievska Borschagivka (20) and Bucha (14).
“The clients’ orientation to the optimal combination of price on the one hand, risk assessment and services of the housing estate on the other hand. Probably, the trend of the next year and a half will be the search for optimal construction formats that combine speed, versatility of design solutions and relatively low cost. We expect that these will be projects in the comfort class and social housing,” the expert predicts.
Established in February 2020, the Ukrainian proptech company M4U specializes in the development and implementation of complex intellectual solutions in real estate development.
