Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will visit Ukraine next week, CBC TV channel reports, citing a press statement.
Joly’s office said the trip was meant to reaffirm Canada’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It is noted that meetings are planned between the Canadian Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna.
It is also expected that Joly will visit the Canadian military in Ukraine.
As it is known, 200 Canadian servicemen are in Ukraine as part of the UNIFIER military training mission, they are based in Yavoriv (Lviv region)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the operation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the liberalization of the visa travel.
“During a meeting at COP26, I thanked Justin Trudeau for Canada’s continued support of Ukraine, our European integration and NATO membership aspirations. The effect of the Free Trade Agreement was positively assessed. Simplification of trips to Canada for Ukrainian citizens was discussed,” Zelensky said on Twitter on Monday.
Ukrainian exporters in 2021 for the first time sent one sea container with frozen raspberries to the United States and Canada. This event is important for domestic producers, since this berry is traditionally more expensive in the markets of these countries than in other regions of the world.
As reported on the website of the Ukrainian Horticultural Association (UHA) on Monday, the importance of this event for the development of production and freezing of berries in Ukraine is explained by the high level of requirements for product quality and logistics, which were successfully overcome by Ukrainian suppliers this year.
“One shipment of raspberries was sent to Canada and the United States in the amount of one sea container. The logistics took about one and a half months, and the buyer was satisfied with the quality of the supplied products and is considering the possibility of continuing cooperation with Ukrainian suppliers on an ongoing basis,” the association said.
The association said that the higher import price for berries in the United States and Canada is due to high requirements for the quality of products, for the confirmation of which Ukrainian exporters have been certified by the FDA (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration).
“The United States and Canada account for about 80% of all global imports of frozen raspberries in value terms and about 65% in physical terms. However, Ukraine has traditionally exported frozen raspberries mainly to Poland, which makes good money on the re-export of Ukrainian raspberries to other countries of the world,” the organization said, citing Economist of the Investment Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Andriy Yarmak.
According to the UHA, the United States imports frozen raspberries from Chile, Mexico and Serbia, and Canada from Chile, Serbia, the United States and Mexico.
The approximate carrying capacity of a standard 40-foot sea container is 27 tonnes.
“Accordingly, for Ukraine, which is one of the five largest world exporters of frozen raspberries, it is very important to gain a foothold in these two most important sales markets. This is especially important amid the expected growth in production of all types of berries in 2022-2024. It remains to hope that not only the volume, but also the quality of the berries produced will grow,” the association said.
According to the data on the website of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, in 2020 Ukraine produced 35,000 tonnes of this berry, ranking seventh in the world in terms of its production. Some 89% of this berry was grown on household farms.
Last year, Ukraine exported 539 tonnes of raspberries, which is 2% of its total production. At the same time, Poland was practically the only consumer of Ukrainian fresh raspberries.
The Global Affairs Canada, implementing the Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project (UHBDP), has decided to extend the project until March 31, 2022, whereas it was previously planned to be completed in 2021, project manager Dmytro Nikolayev said during a press conference in Kyiv. According to him, UHBDP for the period from 2014 to 2021 provided financial support for a total of UAH 43.25 million for 2,780 clients.
He clarified that by March 31, 2022, the project will additionally support clients under various programs in the amount of about UAH 20 million. He clarified that at present UHBDP focused on informing farmers about the legislative features of the land market launched from July 1, developing and implementing educational and online trading platforms, and providing grants for business restoration to the most vulnerable groups of agricultural producers.
As reported, UHBDP finances 30% of the total cost of projects, which are at least estimated at $ 200,000. The term of their implementation is a year and a half.
The Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project (UHBDP) is funded by the Global Affairs Canada, implemented and co-financed by the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). MEDA works with Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation(MASHAV) and international service companies to provide technical support.
UHBDP works with producers from Zaporizhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions, engaged in fruit and vegetable growing, berry growing, viticulture and beekeeping.
During the first telephone conversation, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau agreed to begin negotiations in the near future on expanding the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Ukraine and Canada in the sphere of services and investments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported.
“The ministers discussed the intensification of interaction between Ukraine and Canada in the political, security, defense, trade, investment and migration spheres,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Kuleba also expressed gratitude for the work of the Canadian UNIFIER training mission in Ukraine. “Canada, with actions, not just words helps strengthen the security and defense sector of Ukraine. The Canadian instructors of the UNIFIER mission share important experiences and practices for transforming our armed forces in accordance with NATO standards. This is an example of cooperation between close partners,” the press service of the foreign policy department quoted the minister as saying.
The ministers welcomed the launch of the Ukrainian-Canadian working group on mobility issues to strengthen interpersonal ties. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister proposed to hold its first meeting next month and confirmed the interest of the Ukrainian side in concluding a bilateral agreement on youth exchanges.
“Kuleba informed the interlocutor about the priorities of the Crimean platform as a platform for consolidating international efforts to de-occupy Crimea and invited the Canadian side to take part in its inaugural summit this year. Garneau assured that Canada will continue to steadily support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported.
The ministers paid special attention to the topic of countering the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination of the population.
In addition, Kuleba and Garneau stressed the importance of coordinating further actions and forming common positions in preparation for the next stage of negotiations with Iran to bring to justice those responsible for the downing of Flight PS752 and to achieve justice for the victims of the tragedy and their families.
Finally, the interlocutors confirmed a mutual invitation to carry out working visits after the normalization of the epidemic situation.
Canada’s Black Iron, implementing the investment project to create a new iron ore production facility in Kryvy Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region, Shymanivske iron ore project), has welcomed a new law on state support of investment projects with large investments in Ukraine aimed at attracting investments, lower taxes and provision of priority rights to lease state and communal land plots needed to realize an investment project.
The company said in a Thursday press release that upon a company entering into an investment agreement with Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, support can be provided in the following areas that are relevant for Black Iron to construct its Shymanivske project: lower taxes – exemption from corporate taxes for a period of time and value added tax for all new equipment imported for the project; duty exemption – no import duties need to be paid on new equipment; priority land rights – priority rights to lease state and communal land plots needed to realize the investment project; and stabilization of law – the rights and duties of the investor shall be governed by the Ukrainian laws in effect at the date the investment agreement is executed unless a new law improves the investor’s position.
For Black Iron, this could be a savings of up to nearly $170 million through a combination of reduced upfront tax/duty payments to construct the project and initial corporate tax payments.
Black Iron CEO Matt Simpson said that this is a very positive concrete measure initiated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to attract additional investment to Ukraine that is greatly welcomed by international investors, including Black Iron, and should prove to be very effective.
