It is advisable for Poland to maintain the blockade on Ukrainian grain imports, but transit should be allowed when transshipment capacities are free in Polish ports, President of the Grain and Feed Chamber of Poland Monika Pątkowska said in an interview with farmer.pl.
“Today it would be better if the blockade of grain imports is maintained, and when it comes to transit, we could implement it to some extent and thus help Ukraine when we have free handling capacities in Polish ports,” she said.
Pętkowska noted that Polish ports were not 100% loaded in the first quarter of 2024.
“We have to conclude that our port infrastructure, but also the railroad infrastructure is inefficient. Now is the right time to expand it. I believe that we slept through the last two years in this context. Romania has received funds from the European Union and is expanding its infrastructure, while Poland has not done it so far,” the public figure emphasized.
She is sure that Poland should show both Ukraine and the international community that it wants to help effectively but, on the other hand, firmly protects the interests of the Polish farmer. These two goals, in her opinion, should be combined.
“The sooner we come to a mutual understanding, the sooner we develop mechanisms, the less complicated will be the atmosphere that may hinder our broader cooperation not only with Ukraine, but also in the European arena,” summarized the president of the Polish Grain Chamber.
In January-March this year, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 28.9% year-on-year to $752.5 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), ferrous metals accounted for 7.48% of total export revenues in this period, compared to 5.66% in January-March 2023.
In March, revenues from exports of ferrous metals amounted to $230.184 million.
At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 23.9% to $322.788 million in January-March this year. In March, products worth $101.233 million were imported.
In addition, in the first three months of 2024, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 5.6% to $230.009 million. In March, they were exported for $77.626 million.
Imports of metal products increased by 33.9% to $233.253 million over the same period. In March, these products were imported for $88.481 million.
As reported earlier, in 2023, Ukraine’s steelmaking companies reduced revenues from exports of ferrous metals by 41.59% compared to 2022, to $2 billion 647.722 million, with ferrous metals accounting for 7.32% of total revenues from exports of goods during this period, while in 2022 the share was 10.26%. At the same time, in 2023, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 37% to $1 billion 307.046 million.
In addition, last year, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 16.6% year-on-year to $877.916 million. At the same time, imports of metal products increased by 40.3% to $902.565 million during this period.
In 2022, Ukraine decreased revenues from ferrous metal exports by 67.5% compared to 2021, to $4 billion 533.088 million. During this period, ferrous metals accounted for 10.26% of total revenues from exports of goods, compared to 20.49% in 2021. At the same time, in 2022, Ukraine reduced imports of similar products by 38.3% to $954.387 million.
In addition, in 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 18.6% to $1 billion 52.512 million. Imports of metal products fell by 42.9% to $643.162 million over the year.
Average price per hectare of land in 2023, UAH
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
On April 11, 2024, the Zhovten Cinema in Kyiv hosted the grand opening of the annual Austrian Film Week festival, which will run until April 15 inclusive.
Later, screenings will also take place in other cities: April 22-25 in Dnipro (Most-Kino cinema in the Most-City shopping mall), May 9-12 in Chernivtsi (Chernivtsi cinema and concert hall), May 16-19 in Lviv (Planeta Kino cinema in the Forum shopping center).
The festival is organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Austria in Ukraine together with the Arthouse Traffic film company with the support of the general partner AMIC ENERGY.
The program of this year’s festival includes the most interesting films of Austrian cinema in recent years.
The film festival started with the screening of the drama “A Lifetime” directed by Hans Steinbichler and based on the bestseller of the same name by Robert Zichtaler. The opening film was presented by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria to Ukraine, Dr. Arad Benkö.
After the film festival, the general partner AMIC ENERGY will donate an amount equivalent to the festival’s box office receipts as a sign of support and respect for the indomitable Ukrainian people.
All films will be screened in their original language with Ukrainian subtitles.
Diplomats from different countries also joined the event: Ontal Geyser, Ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine, Valeriu Chiever, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Ukraine, Elena Leticia Teresa Mikusinski, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Ukraine, Radek Pech, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ukraine.
The Austrian Film Week has been held annually in Ukraine for over 11 years. Only 2022 was an exception due to the war.
Read more https://www.facebook.com/UkrDiplomatic/
Sales of Ukrainian cheese have stopped growing in Ukraine amid rising imports, and the prospects for domestic cheese sales in foreign markets are not good, according to Infagro, an industry analytical agency.
“In the short term, cheeses will not become cheaper, but promotions with big discounts will become widespread. And even price discounts will not save all producers, as cheese imports have increased significantly,” the analysts said.
According to their information, European cheese is very cheap and it is becoming increasingly difficult for domestic producers to compete with it in the Ukrainian domestic market. In the first quarter, imports of hard, semi-hard and white cheese increased by 12%. This included a significant amount of hard/semi-hard cheeses, which are the most competitive for domestic cheese producers. Imports of processed cheese increased by a quarter.
At the same time, there is no certainty that imports will increase significantly in the future. The devaluation of the hryvnia scares importers away a bit, experts suggest.
They pointed out that due to the worsening problems with sales in the domestic market, Ukrainian cheese producers are trying to increase exports, but they do not always succeed.
“Export sales of semi-hard cheeses fell by 11% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. The dynamics of exports of semi-hard cheese products looks even worse. Their sales in the first quarter fell by almost a quarter. In the future, exports of this product will fall even more significantly,” Infagro predicts.
The Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) can provide a certificate of accident-free driving experience required by some foreign insurance companies to conclude an auto insurance contract.
According to its website, due to changes in the conditions of stay of vehicles with Ukrainian registration and the need to register them in the countries of stay, Ukrainians have faced the impossibility of further using the Ukrainian Green Card and the need to use insurance services of foreign insurance companies.
In order to obtain information from the MTIBU’s Centralized Database (CDB) on the history of insurance under the compulsory insurance of civil liability of owners of land vehicles and participation in road accidents, an application in any form must be submitted to the MTIBU.
The application must indicate the addressee (MTIBU), the applicant’s full name, details of the document certifying the individual submitting the request, the applicant’s individual tax number, address of residence (place of stay), e-mail, vehicle make and model (optional), vehicle license plate, vehicle VIN
The written application must be signed and dated by the applicant. After that, a scanned copy or a photo in pdf-format should be sent to mtibu@mtibu.kiev.ua.
The MTIBU emphasizes that the certificates are issued free of charge. The MTIBU’s database was created in 2010. Therefore, the database does not contain complete information on MTPL contracts concluded before 2010. Due to the large number of requests, it takes some time to process such a request.
Inquiries are sent by e-mail and are certified by an electronic digital signature.
