The Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) has lowered its estimate of the potential harvest of grains and oilseeds in 2024 by 2.8 million tons compared to the previous forecast, to 71.8 million tons, the association’s press service reports.
“The current forecast is based on the average weather conditions over the past five years, so the improvement or deterioration of these conditions in spring and summer make adjustments. Another decrease in the harvest forecast for the new season was caused by the hot and dry weather in Ukraine in July this year, which negatively affected the potential yield of late grains and oilseeds,” the report says.
According to experts, under such conditions, exports in the new season 2024/2025 will amount to 41 mln tons, which is 2.5 mln tons less than the previous forecast. Last season, which ended on June 30, according to the UGA, the export of grains and oilseeds amounted to 57.5 mln tons of grains and oilseeds. Thus, the drop in exports compared to the previous season could be more than 16 million tons.
The UGA estimates the wheat harvest in 2024 at 19.8 mln tons (22 mln tons in 2023). Potential exports of wheat in 2024/2025 MY may amount to about 13 mln tonnes, taking into account that at the beginning of the season carry-over stocks amounted to almost 1 mln tonnes.
The UGA pointed out that the consumption of wheat in Ukraine has decreased due to the war and significant outflow of population abroad. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, wheat consumption decreased from 8 mln tons to just over 6 mln tons.
According to the UGA, the barley harvest in 2024 may reach 4.95 mln tonnes, which is 350 thsd tonnes more than the previous estimate (5.8 mln tonnes in 2023), and potential exports in 2024/2025 MY are expected to reach about 2 mln tonnes (last year barley exports amounted to almost 2.5 mln tonnes).
Expectations for the corn harvest in the new season are deteriorating due to the prolonged dry period in a number of regions. The UGA estimates the corn harvest at 23.4 million tons, which is 2.1 million tons lower than the previous estimate and 6.2 million tons less than last year’s harvest of 29.6 million tons. At the same time, potential exports may amount to about 18.5 mln tons (last season, exports amounted to 29.3 mln tons, in particular due to carry-over corn stocks).
The sunflower harvest in 2024 can be expected at 12.8 mln tons, which is 0.9 mln tons lower than the previous estimate (2023 – 14.2 mln tons). Potential exports could reach up to 250 thsd tonnes, while sunflower crushing for vegetable oil could reach 12.5 mln tonnes. Last season, the processing amounted to 13.5 mln tons.
In 2024, the UGA expects the rapeseed harvest to reach 4.3 mln tonnes (4.5 mln tonnes in 2023), while the exports in 2024/2025 MY will be 3.4 mln tonnes (3.7 mln tonnes in the current season).
As for soybeans, despite the fact that farmers have increased the area under the crop, unfavorable weather conditions will not allow to get a bigger harvest due to lower yields, experts believe. According to their estimates, the soybean harvest can be expected in 2024 at 4.8 mln tonnes, which is 0.7 mln tonnes less than the previous estimate (4.9 mln tonnes in 2023). Potential exports in 2024/2025 MY may reach 3.5 mln tonnes (last season – almost 3 mln tonnes).
As reported, in 2023, the UGA estimated the harvest at 82.8 mln tons of grains and oilseeds.
Open4Business, Ukraine’s leading economic and business information portal, is now available in five languages. The new language version of the website is Spanish. The move, according to the portal’s editorial team, will significantly improve access to the Ukrainian market for foreign companies and help them find business partners.
Open4Business, created to meet the needs of foreign investors, specializes in providing consulting services for companies seeking to enter the Ukrainian market. The company uses an individualized approach to each project, engaging internal and external experts in the required fields.
The new Spanish-language version of the website is aimed at facilitating interaction with Spanish-speaking clients and partners, as well as providing a deeper understanding of the unique opportunities offered by the Ukrainian market. This initiative reflects the expansion of the international presence of the Open4Business project and its ability to promote global integration and development of the Ukrainian business environment.
“This step is an important milestone in our efforts to provide foreign companies with easy access to the Ukrainian market and strengthen international business ties, as 28 Spanish-speaking countries are now home to more than 500 million people and millions of business projects, many of which could become investors in the Ukrainian economy,” said Maxim Urakin, Open4Business Project Manager.
Thus, the launch of the Spanish version of the Open4Business website opens up new opportunities for Spanish-speaking businessmen interested in entering the Ukrainian market.
Vienna, 31 July 2024 — The ICMPD is growing with another member: Ireland is the 21st Member State to join ICMPD’s work in finding innovative solutions to regional migration challenges. Ireland’s accession is the latest after Germany (2020), Greece (2021), and the Netherlands (2023) joined the ICMPD in recent years.
“Global migration is increasingly complex and multifaceted. Ireland cannot go it alone; effective migration policy cannot be developed or implemented in isolation. Ireland becoming a member of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development is very welcome, and brings a wealth of expertise which will be an invaluable resource to Irish policymakers,” Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD, said.
Ireland and the ICMPD have been working together for the past 20 years, collaborating on a number of migration governance projects through research. These include studies around irregular migration and trends and outcomes of regularisation policies, as well as analysis of various policy implementation (MIrreM); evaluating the framework and practice of the Common European Asylum System (CEASEVAL); and producing evidence to support policy in the EU on complementary pathways to admit adult refugees through technical and vocational skills (REF-VET), among many others.
Furthermore, Ireland also holds an active role in migration dialogues supported by the ICMPD, such as the Budapest Process and Prague Process; as well as developing a guide to integrate recently arrived migrants in the region (SPRING); policy research, information sharing, and capacity-building on the Medical Country of Origin (MedCOI) initiative; and in developing methods and strategies to assist survivors of trafficking, sexual abuse, and exploitation of children particularly those committed using online channels (HEROES).
“We are happy to welcome Ireland as our newest Member State. ICMPD’s Member States represent a group of countries highly relevant to and uniquely positioned in tackling issues around migration; and Ireland has been an active stakeholder in these efforts. As a Member State, Ireland will further strengthen the strategic dimension of our engagement with the broader European Union and beyond,” said the ICMPD Director-General Michael Spindelegger.
“Beyond being a destination country for migrants, Ireland’s active collaboration with the ICMPD and the country’s experience in responding to various migration themes, will strengthen our possibilities to respond jointly and more effectively to the opportunities and challenges, and work towards improved migration systems at the regional level,” Mr Spindelegger added.
The ICMPD was founded on the initiative of Austria and Switzerland in 1993, when the migration reality in Europe was dramatically altered by the political changes in Eastern Europe and the Balkan conflicts. The ranks of its Member States saw their first growth in the 1990s with the addition of Hungary in 1995 and Slovenia in 1998. Czechia then followed in 2001; Sweden, Poland and Bulgaria in 2003; Portugal and Croatia in 2004; and Slovakia in 2006.
Romania and Serbia were the next to join in 2011 followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2012 and North Macedonia in 2015. Malta and Türkiye both joined in 2018 followed by Germany in 2020 and Greece in 2021.
Number of refugees from Ukraine in selected countries as of 31.05.2024
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has raised more than $510 million from the private sector and international donors to support Ukrainian agricultural producers over two years as part of the Agricultural Resilience Initiative in Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine), with the U.S. government contributing another $350 million to the program, the donor organization said.
“AGRI-Ukraine, founded in July 2022, has already helped more than 14 thousand Ukrainian farmers, which is 32% of registered agricultural producers in the country, to obtain the necessary resources, such as seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products, access to storage facilities and financial resources. This made it possible to harvest crops and provide additional income of more than $90 million due to an increase in corn and sunflower production by 430 thousand tons,” the statement said.
When Russia tried to block the export of Ukrainian agricultural products through the Black Sea ports, AGRI-Ukraine helped to prepare alternative export routes, in particular through ports on the Danube River and land border crossings.
Thanks to these measures, 62 million tons of agricultural products were exported, bringing more than $17 billion to the Ukrainian economy, USAID stated.
According to the donor organization, contributions of $510 million provided by the private sector and international donors tripled the original target set by USAID.
“In 2023, AGRI-Ukraine expanded its circle of partners to include 26 Ukrainian agricultural companies, the American seed company Gowan Seed, international financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the governments of the Republic of Korea and Japan.
“USAID and its partners remain committed to supporting Ukraine’s agricultural sector and the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, which will help mitigate the global food crisis that is deepening as a result of the war unleashed by Russia,” the donor organization assured.
Ferrexpo, a mining company with assets in Ukraine, increased its total sales of iron ore products by 85% year-on-year to 3.8 million tons in January-June this year.
According to the company’s interim report, out of 3.8 million tons, 1.8 million tons were exported through Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Total commercial production in the first six months of 2024 increased by 75% to 3.7 million tons, including 3.3 million tons of pellets and 0.4 million tons of commercial concentrate.
C1’s production cost in 1H2024 increased to $79/tonne due to higher energy costs, expansion of mining activities, maintenance and repairs, partially offset by the positive effect of currency devaluation and cost-saving measures, the report explains.
It also notes that due to difficulties with electricity supply, the company is addressing this issue. At the same time, electricity costs in June increased by about $11/tonne at C1’s cost compared to the previous month. “C1 Group’s costs increased to $78.8/tonne in H1 2024 due to higher electricity prices offset by a slight devaluation of the hryvnia and the effect of a more favorable fixed exchange rate and increased production volumes,” the report explains.
Total distribution expenses in the reporting period increased to $148 million compared to $74 million in the first half of the previous year due to sales growth. And it is noted that maritime logistics routes are usually the cheapest and most efficient way to deliver the group’s products to its customers. As a result, sea sales increased by 1.7 million tons to 2.1 million tons in the first half of 2024 compared to 0.4 million tons in the same period of 2023.
In 1H2024, Ferrexpo reduced its capex by 5% year-on-year to $55 million from $58 million as a result of a 64.2% increase in revenue to $548.535 million from $334.010 million. EBITDA increased by 24.1% to $79.043 million from $63.685 million. Cash at the end of the first half of this year amounted to $115.131 million compared to $134.903 million at the end of June 2023.
In January-June 2024, Ferrexpo doubled its net profit compared to the same period last year to $55.490 million from $27.009 million. Pre-tax profit for the period amounted to $75.671 million, while in January-June 2023 it was $35.446 million.
In 2023, Ferrexpo reduced its capital investments by 37.1% to $101.247 million compared to $161.010 million in 2022 and $361 million in 2021.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. Ferrexpo owns 100% of shares in Poltava Mining, 100% of shares in Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% of shares in Bilanivsky Mining.
