AmCham Ukraine and member company Sayenko Kharenko are delighted to invite you to our Summer Blood Donation Day.
Right now, Ukraine needs blood more than ever, especially during these challenging times of Russia’s full-scale war. Your donation can make a real difference and save lives.
Bring your friends, family, and everyone who wants to join this important cause. Let’s come together, donate blood, and show our support. Plus, there will be refreshments and great company.
We can’t wait to see you on June 20 and make a positive impact together.
Follow all the rules and recommendations to prepare for donating blood.
Please take your passport and identification code with you. Citizens of other countries can also be donors if they have a residence permit in Ukraine and an identity document.
Due to security reasons, venue details will be provided one day in advance. The location has an underground shelter.
World grain production in 2023-2024 will be 1.2% higher than a year earlier, amounting to 2.846 billion tons, taking into account the increase in barley, rice and sorghum production, FAO (the UN Food and Agriculture Organization) predicts.
According to its review, global production of corn and wheat will decline, while barley, rice and sorghum production will increase. In addition, the recent unfavorable weather conditions in the Black Sea region are likely to lead to a decline in global wheat production, but this possibility is not yet reflected in the forecast.
At the same time, global grain stocks are likely to increase by 1.5% compared to the initial level and reach a record high of 897 million tons. Corn, barley, sorghum, and rice stocks are expected to increase, while wheat stocks may decline. The global stocks-to-use ratio is likely to remain at 30.9%.
In addition, the FAO revised its forecast for global cereal consumption in 2024-2025 by 0.5% to a new record level of 2.851 billion tons, which it explained by an increase in food consumption, especially rice.
Global grain trade will decline by 1.3% compared to the previous year to 481 million tons, due to lower prospects for corn trade. International trade in rice is expected to grow strongly, FAO predicts.
Real GDP in 2021-2025 (forecast)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The number of bankrupts since the beginning of the year
343 Ukrainians filed for bankruptcy in the first 5 months of 2024, according to the Supreme Court. This is 2.2 times more than last year. In total, almost 2,000 bankruptcy cases have been opened in Ukraine over the past 5 years.
Since the beginning of the year, 343 Ukrainians have filed for insolvency. The number of bankruptcy cases increased by 2.2 times compared to the same period last year. By the way, 575 people received this status last year.
The fewest bankruptcy cases were opened in 2019. It was the first year when the law allowed citizens to declare themselves insolvent in court. Back then, 22 bankruptcy cases were opened. Since then, the number of people who wanted to declare themselves insolvent has been steadily increasing: 8.3 times in 2020 and 2.7 times in 2021.
“In my opinion, court statistics do not reflect the real number of debtors in difficulty who could benefit from bankruptcy proceedings. However, this procedure is not well-known and widespread among Ukrainians, and there are several reasons for this: it is expensive, complicated and incomprehensible without the help of a lawyer, for whom the debtor may simply not have the funds. In addition, creditors and financial institutions are not very willing to file their claims in such court cases, hoping to collect the debt after the person’s solvency is restored and save on legal fees, or vice versa, trying to torpedo the procedure by discrediting the debtor. On the other hand, citizens also need to realize that this procedure is not about writing off debts, but about trying to find an agreement with creditors through the court procedure and the insolvency officer,” comments Denys Likhopiok, attorney at law, insolvency officer, member of the Qualification Commission of Insolvency Officers, bankruptcy specialist.
In total, 1,993 bankruptcy cases have been opened against Ukrainians. Every second bankrupt is between the ages of 25 and 45: 58% or more than 1.1 thousand. A third of bankrupts are over 45 years old – 38.3% or 764 people. The lowest number of bankrupts is among young people under 25 – only 3.7%.
The gender distribution was almost equal. 54% of all bankrupts are men, and 46% are women.
Context.
The Verkhovna Rada allowed individuals to become bankrupt in October 2018. The procedure became fully operational in 2019. Since then, a person in a difficult financial situation can initiate bankruptcy and, after going through the entire procedure, get rid of debts.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/people-bankrupts-2024
In January-May 2024, Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) increased the volume of cargo transportation by 29.9% to 75.43 million tons compared to the same period in 2023.
At the same time, according to an analytical note prepared for a meeting of the Exporters’ Office on Friday, in May, the volume of grain cargo transportation to ports for the first time reached the level that preceded the full-scale invasion. Exports of ore, building materials and cement also increased significantly.
“The increase in transportation volumes is due to the activity of cargo exports, largely due to the opening of sea routes. At the same time, massive rocket attacks have significantly affected the state of the energy sector, certain industries, and transport infrastructure, which affects the dynamics of cargo transportation,” the note says.
The volume of cargo transportation by Ukrzaliznytsia in export traffic in January-May increased by 56.7% to 37.97 million tons. Over the five months, the share of rail freight exports increased by almost 9 percentage points to 50.4% of the volumes transported by various modes of transport. In the first five months of 2023, it was 41.7%.
In May, the volume of cargo transportation for export increased by 7.4% compared to April to 7.55 million tons. In May 2023, this figure doubled (+3.76 million tons).
According to the main nomenclature of export transportation in May, grain cargo took the first place – 3.28 million tons (43.4% of the total volume of cargo transported by rail for export in May), iron and manganese ore took the second place – 2.7 million tons (35.8%), and ferrous metals took the third place – 410 thousand tons (5.5%).
Thanks to the work of the Ukrainian Sea Corridor and the gradual resumption of production at the mining and metallurgical enterprises, the export of iron and manganese ore has increased significantly, UZ noted.
In addition, it is reported that the volume of grain cargo transportation towards ports in May for the first time reached the level that preceded the full-scale invasion. The company transported 2.91 mln tons, which is 0.6% more than in February 2022. In the direction of the land crossings, 361.7 thousand tons were transported, which is 5.6 times more than in February 2022.
The volume of grain cargo transportation for this period in 2024 increased by 38.9% compared to the same period last year – up to 16.17 mln tons. In May, the volume of grain exports amounted to 3.28 million tons, up 10.1% compared to April.
The volume of iron and manganese ore exported in the first five months of 2024 increased 2.1 times compared to the same period in 2023, to 15.2 million tons. In May, the volume of ore exports increased slightly compared to April, by 2.8% to 2.7 million tons. The company transported 1.39 million tons (51.6% of exports) to seaports and 1.3 million tons via land crossings.
Exports of ferrous metals increased by 4% to 2.02 million tons over the reporting period. In May, 414.6 thousand tons of ferrous metals were transported in export traffic, up 1% compared to April.
The volume of exports of ferrous metals in the direction of seaports amounted to 305.6 thousand tons (73.7%), and 109 thousand tons through land crossings. It is noted that in May-2024 compared to May-2023, the volume of exports of ferrous metals fell by 12.2% (57.6 thousand tons).
The volume of vegetable oil exports for 5 months increased by 20.3% compared to the same period last year – up to 770.9 thousand tons. In May, it amounted to 195.1 thsd tonnes, up 28.7% compared to April.
As noted, the oil is exported mainly through land crossings, through which 140.4 thsd tonnes (72% of the total) were exported in May, and 54.7 thsd tonnes through seaports. Compared to May-2023, in May-2024, the volume of vegetable oil exports increased by 68.6% (+79.4 thsd tonnes).
Exports of building materials increased to 1.22 million tons. In May, the highest export volume of construction materials was recorded – 358.4 thousand tons, which is 11% more than in April.
Cement exports increased by 40.6% to 566.5 thousand tons over 5 months. In May, the highest volume of cement exports over the past five years was recorded – 151.4 thousand tons, which is 10.2% more than in April 2014.
“For several years in a row, there has been a trend of gradual growth in cement exports by rail. In the direction of the EU, cement is exported through land border crossings,” UZ noted.
In general, exports through land border crossings decreased by 8.9% over five months compared to the same period last year to 13.33 million tons. In May, it amounted to 2.69 million tons (35.6% of total exports), which is 3.6% less than in April.
At the same time, exports through seaports increased 2.6 times to 24.61 million tons. In May, it amounted to 4.86 million tons (64.4% of total exports), up 9.7% compared to April. The bulk of cargo went to the ports of Greater Odesa (92%) and only 8% to the Danube ports.
The investment income of PZU Ukraine Life Insurance Company (Kyiv) for 2023 amounted to 14.59% in UAH and 3.32% in USD, according to the insurer’s information.
“This result was achieved due to the company’s balanced investment policy aimed at achieving the maximum result,” the statement said.
As reported, the company’s investment income in 2022 amounted to 11.24%, in 2021 – 10.52%, 2020 – 13.62%, in US dollars in 2022 – 2.21%, in 2021 – 2.71%, 2020 – 3.56%.
As reported, in 2023, PZU Ukraine Life Insurance collected UAH 401.220 million in net premiums, which is 1.2% more than a year earlier. last year, it paid out UAH 75.847 million in compensation (11.4% more).
