Plants of nitrogen holding Ostchem, which unites enterprises of nitrogen business of Group DF, produced 959.7 thousand tons of mineral fertilizers in the first half of 2023, which is 60.9% more than in the same period last year, when 596.3 thousand tons were produced.
According to the press release of Group DF on Wednesday, Rivneazot produced 201.2 thousand tons, Cherkassy Azot 758.6 thousand tons, including in May it reached the maximum since the beginning of the war – 138.6 thousand tons.
It is specified that the structure of production in the first half of the year corresponded to the structure of demand for nitrogen fertilizers, taking into account the prices of competitors and the margins of individual products. The key products were: ammonium nitrate – 398.7 thousand tons (313.3 thousand tons in 6M 2022); urea-ammonia mixture (UAN) – 277.7 thousand tons (116.8 thousand tons); urea – 205.9 thousand tons (76.4 thousand tons). At the same time, production of limestone-ammonium nitrate (UAN) dropped almost fourfold to 17.2 thousand tons.
“Ostchem’s enterprises have adapted to work under war conditions. Under the conditions of war risks, logistical problems, blackouts and unscheduled shutdowns, the plants managed to pass peak load periods and ensure timely shipment of fertilizers to agrarians clearly in accordance with the concluded agreements,” the report quotes Ostchem’s nitrogen business head Sergiy Pavliuchuk as saying.
According to him, at the moment the main task is to prepare production facilities for the fall season, and after the completion of repairs key workshops will be launched, and the load of plants in August will increase.
It is noted that the main factors that contributed to a successful spring season and the implementation of the production plan are increased demand from farmers and large agricultural holdings and increased sales due to soft loans, acceptable gas prices and lower fertilizer selling prices, as well as the spring sowing season delayed due to weather conditions.
“Our companies are ready to produce as much fertilizer as the market can buy. Illegal imports of repackaged Russian fertilizers are holding back the development of the domestic chemical industry,” said Oleg Arestarhov, Head of Corporate Communications at Group DF.
According to him, Russian fertilizers are imported to the customs territory of Ukraine from five countries of the former Soviet Union. In particular, Arestarhov specified, since the beginning of this year, 382.8 thousand tons of urea were imported into Ukraine, including 269.5 thousand tons from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, while domestic production amounted to 205.9 thousand tons.
“With such a volume of imports, it will be much more difficult for urea producers such as Dniprazot and OPZ, which are now standing, to start up,” said the head of Group DF’s corporate communications department.
The release also notes that Ostchem will continue to increase production volumes in new sectors of chemistry. In particular, the company counts on AdBlue – a liquid reagent for diesel cars, the production volume of which amounted to 4.2 thousand tons in the first half of the year.
In addition, production of carbon dioxide in the first half of 2023 amounted to 10.1 thousand tons, while during this period Cherkassy Azot has been increasing its output on a monthly basis, and Ostchem has started to develop its logistics infrastructure to ensure stable supplies of industrial gases both in Ukraine and Europe.
Group DF consolidates Dmytro Firtash’s assets in the gas distribution, chemical, titanium and port industries, as well as in agriculture and media.
Ostchem is the nitrogen holding company of Group DF, which unites the largest mineral fertilizer producers in Ukraine. It includes Rivneazot, Cherkasy Azot, as well as Severodonetsk Azot and Stirol, which are out of operation and located in the occupied territories.
Oil prices are falling on Wednesday after climbing the previous day to highs since mid-April.
The market’s decline on Wednesday is supported by data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), which showed an increase in U.S. inventories last week. Reserves rose by 1.319 million barrels after declining by 797,000 barrels a week earlier, API said.
The cost of September Brent crude futures on the London-based ICE Futures exchange at 8:05 a.m. Wednesday stands at $83.19 per barrel, down $0.45 (0.54%) from the previous session’s closing price. On Tuesday, these contracts rose $0.9 (1.1%) to $83.64 per barrel, the highest since April 18.
The price of WTI crude oil futures for September at the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by $0.46 (0.58%) to $79.17 per barrel. At the end of previous trading, the cost of these contracts rose by $0.89 (1.1%), to $79.63 per barrel, which is also the highest value since April 18.
Official data on energy reserves in the U.S. for the week ending July 21, will be released by the Department of Energy at 17:30 Q. Experts surveyed by S & P Global Commodity Insights, on average, predict a decline in oil reserves by 4.4 million barrels, gasoline – by 2 million barrels, distillates – by 2.3 million barrels.
On the eve it became known that the Chinese authorities intend to stimulate consumption, including the purchase of cars and electronics, as well as demand for services, including sports, tourism and recreation.
“The situation in China is very important for the global growth in oil demand this year, and traders had concerns about the weaker-than-expected recovery of the country’s economy, – said in a review of ING, quoted by Market Watch. – Signals of new stimulus help to reduce these concerns”.
Medical laboratory “Dila” (Kiev) has opened 18 departments since the beginning of 2023.
Oleksiy Babich, CEO of Dila Medical Laboratory, told Interfax-Ukraine news agency that 29 new departments were opened in 2021 and more than 40 in 2022.
“Most of the branches were opened in western regions and large cities under the updated franchise program, where not only the formats of partner branches have changed, but also approaches to business in general,” he said.
At the same time, Babich noted that in the first quarter of 2023, the number of operating branches of Dila Laboratories increased by about 1-2% largely due to the reopening of branches that were closed due to military operations.
“The second quarter demonstrates market activation, on average the increase reached 2-3%, but already more due to the opening of new branches. We observe active development of the market precisely due to the opening of franchise outlets,” he said.
In general, according to the company, the market of laboratory diagnostics in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 grew by about 20-25%, in the second quarter the market growth rate slightly decreased – to about 5%, which is due to the seasonal decline in demand.
“Analyzing the market situation, still we see positive dynamics from quarter to quarter. Diversification of risks, search for new markets for development, restarting business in new locations, ensuring a decent salary level are the main challenges of the last year and a half. However, the laboratory diagnostics market continues to develop,” Babich said.
According to him, regional chains are strengthening their place in the overall market and are serious players. “They are leading in local markets and are gradually covering other regions,” he said.
At the same time, commenting on price trends, Babich noted the dependence of the purchase price of reagents and consumables on the exchange rate.
“Increased activity in the market, marketing, investments in new products and most importantly – the increase in employee salaries directly affect the price growth. From the beginning of the fall of 2022 we see an increase in the market price, and from 2023 there is a point adjustment of prices, on average by 5-7%,” he said.
2022-2024 goods trade balance forecast (USD bln)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
In an unstable economy, bank confidence remains an important component of doing business in Ukraine. OTP Leasing remains a reliable partner of Prometey.
The acquisition of freight transport through the leasing program from OTP Bank allowed the company to receive long-term investments in difficult military times.
As Andriy Pavlushin, CEO of OTP Leasing, explains: “Today we have 2.5 thousand customers. It is clear that first of all we try to support them and cooperate with them. A good example is the Prometey company. It has many elevators across the country. And when the company decided to increase the number of trucks, we helped them do it. And now this synergy pays off well – Prometey accepts grain at its elevators and has the opportunity to export it.”
As a financial institution, OTP Leasing faces different cases of payments. According to Andriy Pavlushyn, “in any case, one of the main factors is the integrity of the client. For example, we have not had any problems with Prometey, they pay for leasing on time.”
In the near future, Prometey plans to expand its grain carrier fleet to 100 vehicles.
JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (UZ) from July 26 as part of the fight against overbuyers and will sell tickets for five night trains to / from Chelm and Peremyshl (Poland) exclusively online, while you can change them only at the cash desk, reported the press service of UZ in the telegram channel on Tuesday evening.
It is specified that we are talking about trains №23/24 and 19/20 Kyiv-Khelm, 93/94 Kharkiv-Khelm, 36/35 Odessa-Peremyshl, 32/31 Zaporizhzhya-Peremyshl and №67/68 Kyiv-Warsaw.
As for “Intercity+” trains #705/706, #715/716 Kyiv-Peremyshl and #351K/351L Kyiv-Kishinev, tickets for which can also be bought only online, the possibility of their online delivery is preserved.
In UZ noted that tickets for trains #749/149 Kyiv-Vienna, #140/149 Chop-Vienna, #961/962, 963/964 Mukachevo-Koshice, #31, 33/34 Mukachevo-Budapest are realized and returned through ticket offices, as the integration with partner railroads of these countries is still ongoing.
In addition, UZ said that all international flights from July 26 will have a sales depth of 20 days: sales for the most hype train #67/68 Kiev-Warsaw will start daily at 9:00, for all other destinations – daily at 8:00.
In addition, according to the new rules, “seats returned by passengers more than a day before the departure of the train are returned to the sale at 10:00 a.m. two days before departure”, while the seats surrendered by passengers on the day of departure are returned to the open sale within 30 minutes from the moment of ticket return.
