Prometey Group has completed the early grain harvest and harvested 45 thousand tons of grain from 6.5 thousand hectares in Mykolaiv region, the company’s press service said.
“This year’s weather conditions have been favorable for grain growing in southern Ukraine, so we have an excellent result. At the same time, the result was facilitated by the coordinated work of the team and technical preparation for threshing,” the statement said.
Prometey next step will be to prepare fields for sowing winter rape. In particular, the company is purchasing fertilizers, tilling the soil and preparing machinery for the sowing season.
Prometey Group provides storage, processing and logistics services for crops. Prior to the Russian aggression, it owned 34 elevators in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Odesa, Kherson, and Dnipro regions.
By the end of 2021, the group planned to generate $45 million in EBITDA, while in 2020 this figure reached $32.6 million, and in 2019 – $30.5 million.
“In 2023, Prometey plans to increase its land bank from 20 thousand hectares to 50 thousand hectares, and in the long term, to increase it to 100 thousand hectares.
Net sales of dollars by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in the first week of August rose to $458.3m from $349.3m in the last week of July.
According to the NBU on its website, from July 31 to August 4, 2023, its purchase of currency slightly increased from $1.1m to $2.0m, while its sale increased from $350.5m to $460.3m.
At the same time, on the cash market, the dollar, which rose in price by 45 kopecks a week earlier, lost about 20 kopecks this week and at the end of the week was quoted at a rate of about UAH 37.40/$1.
In total, since the beginning of this year, the NBU has purchased $192.4m on the market, while it sold $14bn 741.4m.
As reported, the volume of the National Bank’s interventions in July rose slightly to $1.946 bln from $1.848 bln in June and $1.93 bln in May. However, international financial support amounted to about $4.4 billion last month. As a result, international reserves, which grew by 4.5% in June to a new historic high of $39.00 billion, will exceed this record at the end of July and, according to experts, will reach $41 billion.
In a conversation with the Secretary of State of the Presidential Chancellery, Andriy Yermak expressed hope that Ukraine’s neighbors would abandon the blockade of Ukrainian agricultural exports after September 15.
“The interlocutors discussed in detail the issue of ensuring the export of Ukrainian grain by land to the EU countries in the context of the continued blockade of Ukrainian ports. The head of the Presidential Office expressed hope that Ukraine’s neighboring countries would refrain from imposing unilateral restrictive measures on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products after September 15,” the press service of the Presidential Office said in a statement on Sunday following the meeting in Jeddah.
“During a meeting with the State Secretary of the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland, Head of the Bureau of International Policy Marcin Przydach, the head of the office expressed gratitude to Polish partners for their comprehensive assistance and solidarity with Ukraine in countering the armed aggression of the Russian Federation,” the statement also said.
The press service also reports that “Yermak praised Poland’s readiness to join the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula.”
The National Bank of Ukraine in its August inflation report worsened its forecast for the country’s 2024 consolidated budget deficit including grants to UAH 1,281 billion, or 16.8% of GDP, down from UAH 811 billion, or 10.5% of GDP, in its April report.
“Deficits are expected to be higher than in the previous forecast, primarily due to the longer duration of security risks, and therefore the need for significant spending on the security and defense sector. Taking this into account, the amount of expected international assistance to finance other expenditures has been increased,” the NBU points out.
In the new report, the forecast of the consolidated budget deficit including grants in 2025 is raised to UAH 883 billion, or 10.0% of GDP, up from UAH 577 billion, or 6.5% of GDP in the April report.
Last year, as the NBU recalled, the deficit of the consolidated budget including grants amounted to UAH 845 billion, or 16.3% of GDP. In the second quarter of this year, it widened to more than UAH 233 billion, and excluding grants in revenue – to UAH 369 billion, or more than 24% of GDP.
“In 2023, the budget deficit excluding grants in revenue is expected to be at the level of the previous year – more than 26.3% of GDP. In the future, due to the increase in revenues, it will narrow to almost 20% of GDP in 2024 and 12% of GDP in 2025 excluding revenue grants,” the National Bank summarized.
It specified that it expects grants to decline from 9.3% of GDP last year to 6.5% of GDP this year, 2.9% of GDP next year and 1.8% of GDP in 2025.
“Given the significant budget deficits for several consecutive years and their financing mainly by debt, as well as the reduction of grant support in the medium term, the debt will approach 100% of GDP,” the National Bank said. It explained that it increased the debt-to-GDP ratio in this forecast compared to the previous one due to the revision of assumptions about the size of deficits upward and grant support downward in 2024-2025.
In particular, the NBU expects government debt to rise from 78.4% of GDP to 84.6% of GDP this year, to 96.6% of GDP next year and to 98.2% of GDP in 2025.
“At the same time, such a high level of debt will have a relatively moderate pressure on the budget in the coming years, primarily due to the receipt of loan funds on preferential terms – at low rates and with a deferred schedule of principal payments,” the NBU believes.
On Monday, August 7, in most southern and eastern regions, as well as in Crimea, dry, hot weather will remain with temperatures of 20-25° at night, 28-33° during the day, and up to 38° in the east, the Ukrainian Weather Center reports.
In the rest of the regions, short-term rains with thunderstorms are forecast, and in the western regions, in some places, significant rains at night. Temperatures will be 19-24° at night, 21-26° during the day, 12-17° at night and 18-23° during the day in the western, Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia regions.
The wind in Ukraine will be southeast with a shift to the west, 7-12 m/s.
In Kyiv on Monday, August 7, short-term rains with thunderstorms. Southeast wind with a shift to the west, 7-12 m/s. The temperature at night will be 21-23°, during the day 23-25°.
According to the Central Geophysical Observatory named after Borys Sreznevsky. On August 7, the highest daytime temperature in Kyiv was 38.0° in 2010, and the lowest nighttime temperature was 8.7° in 1923.
In Ukraine, on Tuesday, August 8, no precipitation, only in the afternoon in the western, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Kirovograd and Cherkasy regions there will be short-term rains with thunderstorms.
West, northwest wind, 5-10 m/s. Temperature at night will be 11-16°, in the western regions 7-12°, during the day 21-26°, in the southern and eastern parts 17-22° at night, during the day 27-32°.
No precipitation in Kyiv on Tuesday, August 8. West, northwest wind, 5-10 m/s. Temperature at night 14-16°, during the day 23-25°.
Ukreximbank has joined the “єOsela” program, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reported.
It is reported that Ukreximbank and “Ukrfinzhytlo” signed a corresponding agreement on August 1. Now 6 partner banks take part in the program: Sberbank, Privatbank, Ukrgasbank, Globus Bank, Sky Bank and Ukreximbank.
“Joining one more bank to the list of partners expands opportunities for borrowers wishing to purchase housing or improve housing conditions,” the release said.
As reported, the program of affordable mortgage lending “єOselia” has worked in Ukraine since October 2022. On a preferential mortgage at 3% per annum for up to 20 years with a down payment of 20% of the cost of housing can qualify for contract servicemen of the AFU, security and defense sector workers, medical workers, teachers, researchers. Since its launch in 2022, partner banks have already issued more than UAH 3 billion in loans to more than 2.2 thousand participants.
Since August 1, to apply for participation in the program “єOsela” at 7% can be war veterans, combatants, IDPs and citizens who do not have their own housing more than the standard area.
An apartment can be chosen in a house not older than three years or built by a developer accredited by a partner bank. At the same time, the normative requirements for the area and the marginal cost of the apartment are preserved.
You can apply for participation in the program in the mobile application “Diya”.
At the end of 2022, the government additional capitalized Ukrfinzhytlo for 30 billion UAH through the issue of domestic state loan bonds. According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko, such financing is enough to issue 12-15 thousand mortgage loans in 2023.
