Canada will provide CAD33 million ($24.5 million) for a joint initiative led by the United Kingdom to purchase additional air defense equipment for Ukraine, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing Canadian National Defense Minister William Blair.
In his statement, Blair said that this contribution is part of the CAD500 million military aid to Kyiv, which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in June.
The report notes that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Ottawa has provided more than CAD8 billion in aid, including about CAD1.8 billion in military assistance. The partnership, which also includes the United States, the Netherlands, and Denmark, aims to purchase hundreds of short- and medium-range air defense missiles and related systems.
The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” is launching a pilot project to procure timber harvesting services through the Prozorro electronic platform, said the company’s CEO Yuriy Bolokhovets.
“Forestry enterprises have always procured harvesting services under direct contracts. We are planning to fully transfer them to open tenders. This is several billion hryvnias a year. In the fourth quarter, a pilot project will be launched in several regions. Specialists from the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” are analyzing the market and working on developing technical requirements,” Bolokhovets said.
According to him, the reform is expected to create a competitive market, attract the maximum number of players, invest in modern equipment and new technologies, create additional jobs, increase contributions to budgets of all levels, reduce illegal logging, and improve the quality of work.
“This is the fourth stage of the anti-corruption program we are implementing. At the first stage, we banned direct contracts and transferred timber sales to specialized exchanges. At the second stage, we transferred the main purchases of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” – from fuel to road construction – to Prozorro. At the third stage, we abandoned unprofitable processing facilities and started transferring them to the State Property Fund,” explained the head of the company.
Mr. Bolokhovets noted that the anti-corruption program of the Forests of Ukraine also includes strengthening control tools and digitalization. However, the problem of corruption can only be overcome by institutional reforms, the creation of a system that minimizes the “official factor” and introduces transparent and open rules of the game for business, he emphasized.
Oil prices continue to rise on Monday after a steady rise last week.
Traders’ attention is focused on the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary (Canada), where Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman will be one of the key speakers.
The cost of November futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange by 8:10 a.m. is $94.47 per barrel, which is $0.54 (0.57%) higher than at the close of the previous session. On Friday, the price of these contracts increased by $0.23 (0.3%) to $93.93 per barrel.
October futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rose by $0.54 (0.57%) to $94.47 per barrel by this time. As a result of the previous trading, the price of these contracts rose by $0.61 (0.7%) to $90.77 per barrel, the highest since November 7.
Last week, the price of Brent increased by 3.6%, and WTI by 3.7%.
Since the beginning of this year, Brent has risen by 10%. Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend its voluntary 1 million bpd oil production cut by the end of 2023 has raised concerns about a supply shortage in the market, while demand prospects appear increasingly favorable as the likelihood of a US recession diminishes.
“Traders’ focus will shift to the Federal Reserve meeting this week, but the problem of oil supply shortages and the growing inventory drawdown is supporting bullish sentiment in the market,” said Vanda Insights founder Vandana Hari.
The Slovak government has decided to extend the ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine until the end of the year, Prime Minister Ludovit Odor said.
“The European Commission did not extend the ban on imports of four commodities from Ukraine, including wheat, after September 15, so the government decided to ban their imports at the national level. And this is until the end of the year and for the same four products, i.e. wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds. We must prevent excessive pressure on the Slovak market to remain fair to domestic farmers,” Odor said, according to Aktuality.
According to him, this step of the government is also a reaction to a similar approach of Poland and Hungary. Odor emphasized that the Slovak government will continue to work intensively with the European Commission and EU member states to find a pan-European and systemic solution while the national ban on imports of these four products is in effect. He stated the government’s readiness to lift the ban in this case.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Slovakia added that this decision is related to the protection of the domestic market and is a logical response to the practice of neighboring countries that adopt unilateral import bans.
“The ban does not apply to the transportation of goods through our territory, which expresses our solidarity with Ukraine and the placement of its goods in target markets,” the ministry added.
On Sunday, the European Commission called on Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to be constructive after they unilaterally announced that they would extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine despite the Commission’s decision to end the ban, Reuters reports, citing a European Commission spokesman.
“We are aware of statements by some member states regarding unilateral measures. It is now important that all countries work in a spirit of compromise and engage in constructive cooperation,” the Commission spokeswoman said.
According to her, Brussels is now focused on “putting in place and making work the new system that has just been announced.”
In particular, Reuters reports that a meeting with representatives of all interested EU countries will be held on Monday to discuss the issue of Ukrainian grain imports in more detail.
The news agency notes that Ukraine was one of the world’s leading grain exporters before Russia’s invasion in 2022 reduced its ability to deliver agricultural products to world markets through Black Sea ports. Since then, Ukrainian farmers have relied on grain exports through neighboring countries.
However, the influx of grains and oilseeds to neighboring countries has affected the incomes of local farmers and led governments to ban imports of agricultural products from Ukraine.
As reported, the ban on the export of wheat, barley, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, introduced on May 2 for the period until June 5, was extended until September 15.
On Friday, September 15, the EU allowed the ban to be lifted after Ukraine promised to take measures to tighten export controls to neighboring countries.
EU Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell says the events in Ukraine threaten global food security, and the EU will discuss with the UN Secretary General the prospect of reviving the “grain deal”.
“This affects all countries, but especially the weakest and poorest. In August 2022, the UN played a crucial role in mitigating this suffering through the Black Sea Grain Initiative. However, in July, Russia decided to abandon this agreement,” Borrell wrote in his blog post, looking ahead to the UN General Assembly’s High Level Week that opens in New York.
“We will discuss with UN Secretary General Guterres ways and means to revive it. Sustainable development goals are in the focus of the UNGA,” said the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
