The US government, through the USAID AGRO Program, will provide Ukrainian agrarians with 12,000 tons of fertilizers for the autumn sowing season free of charge, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said.
“Before the war, Ukraine provided domestic needs for nitrogen fertilizers by 75%. However, due to the full-scale invasion, production has decreased due to logistical problems, broken production chains and rising costs of raw materials. This has limited access to fertilizer for micro, small, and medium-sized farmers. USAID will help agribusinesses ensure their farms have the fertilizer they need in the fall and continue next year,” the statement said.
Agrarians who cultivate from 5 to 500 hectares in any region of Ukraine (except for temporarily occupied territories), grow grain or oilseed crops, are registered as legal entities or individual entrepreneurs, in particular, family farms, will be able to participate in the program.
They will be able to receive 1 ton of nitroammophoska (NPK 16:16:16:16/15:15:15:15) for main and pre-sowing application.
Registration for assistance has already started in the State Agrarian Register (SAR). Applications are accepted exclusively through the GAR, under “Available Programs” – “NPK Fertilizer from USAID AGRO, 2023.” Registration will continue until the applied amount of fertilizer is exhausted.
The USAID AGRO program will hold a public webinar on July 20, 2023 on the terms and conditions and receiving assistance.
As reported, USAID launched a number of programs in 2022 to address the global food crisis, which is exacerbated by the war waged against Ukraine. In the spring of 2023, more than 8,200 Ukrainian agrarians received more than 6,300 tons of fertilizers from USAID, as well as seeds for sowing more than 48,300 hectares of sunflower and 15,000 hectares of corn.
Money supply (aggregate M3) in Ukraine after growth in May by 1.6% in June added another 2.6%, or by UAH 70.1 billion and reached UAH 2 trillion 729.95 billion, the National Bank said.
According to the data on its website, deposit growth in the sixth month of this year accelerated to 2.8% from 1.9% in May and was provided mainly by hryvnia deposits, which, after growing by 3.2% in May, increased by another 3.7%, or UAH 48.7 billion, to UAH 1 trillion 376.1 billion in June.
Foreign currency deposits, which decreased by 0.6 billion in May, grew by UAH 6.7 billion, or 1.0%, to UAH 688.6 billion (in hryvnia equivalent) in June.
Money in circulation outside banks (M0), after increasing by 0.7% in May, added another 2.3% to UAH 664.2 billion in June, almost returning to the level of the beginning of this year.
The growth of monetary base (reserve funds) after acceleration in May to 3.1% in June slowed down to 1.6%, amounting to UAH 14.0 bln – to UAH 907.5 bln. Such dynamics is associated with the absence of an increase in reserve requirements in June.
In addition, cash in banks’ cash offices increased slightly – by UAH 1.1 bln, to UAH 46.7 mln.
Investments in certificates of deposit, which decreased by UAH 1 billion in May, jumped by UAH 51.5 billion, or 12%, to UAH 478.9 billion in June.
The volume of hryvnia loans in June increased for the first time since May 2022 – so far only by 0.2%, or UAH 1.4 bln – to UAH 694.2 bln. However, due to the continued reduction in foreign currency loans, which amounted to 0.7%, or UAH 1.7 billion – to UAH 243.8 billion in June, in general for the past month, loans again decreased, albeit minimally – by UAH 0.3 billion.
Overall for the first half of this year, the money supply increased by 9.1%, the base – by 14.5%, while money in circulation outside banks decreased by 0.3%.
Deposits increased by 12.6%, including hryvnia deposits by 14.3% and foreign currency deposits by 9.3%, while loans decreased by 5.2%, including hryvnia deposits by 4.1% and foreign currency deposits by 8.2%.
As reported, the money supply in Ukraine in 2022 after growth by 12% in 2021 increased by another 21%, or by UAH 435.2 billion.
Deposits for the past year increased by 23.6%, or by UAH 350.8 billion, including hryvnia deposits – by 19.1%, or by UAH 193.9 billion, while foreign currency deposits (in hryvnia equivalent) – by 33.1%, or by UAH 156.9 billion.
The monetary base in 2022 increased by 19.6% compared to 11.2% a year earlier. At the same time, money in circulation outside banks increased by 14.6%, or by UAH 85.1 billion over the year.
The volume of loans in 2022 decreased by 3.8%, or by UAH 39.1 billion. At the same time, hryvnia loans decreased by UAH 13.4 bln, while foreign currency loans decreased by UAH 25.7 bln.
The IMF in the updated in late June materials on the EFF program forecasts growth of the monetary base this year by 25.3%, mass – by 22.0% and reduction of loans to the non-government sector by 12.5%.
DIM Group expects to increase the share of investors who make timely payments under installment agreements to 80-90% by the end of this year, while today their number is 50%, said Alexander Nasikovsky, managing partner of the group.
“Exactly half of those who bought real estate from us are not waiting for the war to end and are already fulfilling their obligations. They see that every hryvnia from their pockets is actually spent on the construction of their own home, not just a new pit. We are now working to ensure that by the end of the year the percentage of those who pay under installment agreements will be at the level of 80-90%,” Nasykovsky said in a column for Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the rapid resumption of construction work after a pause at the beginning of the full-scale invasion allowed for an increase in the number of timely payments under installment agreements. Thus, at the beginning of the active phase of the war, only 10% of investors paid by installments, while today their share has reached 50%.
In addition, to support and stimulate demand, DIM has developed a number of financial instruments: special terms of debt payment and early repayment, favorable exchange rate offers, and debt restructuring. In addition, the company launched a guaranteed yield program at 10% in US dollars and a trade-in program.
Despite the limited effective demand, housing prices were affected by rising construction costs, fuel prices and inflationary processes, Nasikovsky noted.
“In annual terms, we had almost 27% inflation. “Contracts and extensions, and sometimes radical changes in supply chains due to the loss of capacity of producers of a number of building materials in the southern and eastern regions and the relocation of many businesses, are also driving up the price tag. Over the past year, the weighted average cost of construction in housing increased by at least 45%,” he explained.
According to him, certain categories of building materials increased in price by 30-70%, most notably concrete, glass, plaster, wood, and iron.
In addition, the cost of labor has also increased significantly – by 37% on average, Nasikovsky added.
“Prices are growing and will continue to grow, because no one has canceled the laws of the market. Another question is what to do with the limited effective demand. In my opinion, the answer should be sought inside the market, not outside, relying solely on reparations or government support. The recovery and potential of the market will directly depend on the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces, or rather, on its results and timing. We can already see that psychologically, buyers and investors are gradually ready to return to the market if there is a coincidence in their expectations in the price-value-construction time axis – real dynamics,” the expert believes.
Founded in 2014, DIM Group consists of six companies covering all stages of construction.
To date, the group has commissioned 12 houses in six residential complexes. Seven residential complexes of the comfort+ and business class categories are under construction: “New Autograph, Metropolis, Park Lake City, Lucky Land, etc.
Kyiv will increase funding for security and defense forces in 2023 compared to last year from almost UAH 850 million to over UAH 1.1 billion, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has announced.
“This year, Kyiv will allocate more than UAH 1.1 billion to finance the security and defense forces of the capital. This is to help the Armed Forces, border guards, and police. Almost 350 million hryvnias have already been allocated from these funds,” he wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
Klitschko reminded that “last year, Kyiv allocated almost UAH 850 million from the city budget to support the security and defense forces.”
“This money is spent, in particular, on military uniforms, bulletproof vests and helmets. It is also used to purchase drones, radio stations, repair military equipment, and transport. We also send aid to the front line that we raise ourselves – from international partners. We have sent vehicles, drones, Starlink systems, generators, and first aid kits. And we continue to do so,” Klitschko wrote.
Exports of grain crops through the four main Polish seaports in MY 2022-2023 (July 2022-June 2023) exceeded 6.6 million tons, 70% more than in the previous MY, when almost 3.9 million tons were exported, said Marcin Wroński, deputy head of Poland’s National Center for Support of Agriculture (KOWR).
“The very large increase in grain exports by sea – by 70% – in the 2022/2023 season was made possible by the fact that in order to solve the problem of grain surplus on the domestic market, the Polish government took measures aimed at improving logistics and transportation capacities,” Marcin Wroński was quoted as saying by Polish publication farmer.pl.
Financial incentives for farmers in the form of grain subsidies also played a major role, which had an impact on export volumes through the Baltic Sea berths, which have been growing month by month, explained the deputy head of KOWR.
According to him, in the 2022/2023 season, wheat was mainly exported through the national seaports – more than 4.4 million tons compared to almost 2.1 million tons a year earlier, as well as corn – more than 2 million tons compared to about 1.3 million tons in the previous season. 74,000 tons of triticale, 68,000 tons of rye, 64,000 tons of barley and 16,000 tons of oats were also shipped through Baltic ports.
Wroński noted that grain was exported mainly through the seaport in Gdynia – 52%, or 3.5 million tons. Another 31% of the volume, or 2 million tons was shipped through the port of Gdansk. Exports through the seaport of Szczecin-Swinoujście amounted to 17% – about 1.1 million tons of grain.
“May and June (2023 – IF-U) were record months for grain exports by sea: in May we exported 882 thousand tons of grain through ports in Gdynia, Gdansk, Swinoujście and Szczecin, and in June this figure reached 937 thousand tons. We have never had such a result as in June,” emphasized the deputy head of KOWR.
He added that grain exports were also carried out through smaller ports, such as Kolobrzeg, so the total grain exports through the ports in June approached 1 million tons.
According to KOWR’s calculations, in the 2022/2023 season grain exports through sea, road and rail channels totaled more than 11 million tons, which was a record result in the history of Polish grain trade.
Some 735 million people in the world will face hunger in 2022, an increase of 122 million from 2019 figures, according to a UN report.
“It is estimated that 691 million to 783 million people in the world will face hunger in 2022. Taking the average of 735 million, it is clear that 122 million more people suffered from hunger in 2022 than in 2019,” the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 report said.
In addition, the number of people experiencing severe food insecurity in 2022 was about 900 million – 180 million more than in 2019.
At the same time, 2022 saw a slowdown in economic recovery from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and rising food and energy prices, which in turn undermines the incomes of those most at risk of hunger.
At the same time, some regions of the world have made progress in combating hunger, such as Asia and Latin America. However, in Western Asia, the Caribbean and Africa, hunger continued to increase from 2021 to 2022. The number of people suffering from hunger in Africa has increased by 11 million since 2021 and by more than 57 million since the start of the pandemic.
Nearly 600 million people are projected to be chronically undernourished in 2030. It is noted that this is about 119 million more than the scenario if there had been no pandemic and a full-scale war launched by Russia against Ukraine. The most significant increase in hunger is also expected in Africa.
