Business news from Ukraine

Moldova in January-March increased export of alcoholic beverages to Ukraine more than 6 times

Moldova in January-March 2023 increased 6.5 times the export of alcoholic beverages to Ukraine – up to $ 9.40 million compared to the same period last year ($ 1.44 million), the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) said.
“With a share of 17.6% of the total export volume, Ukraine has become the main market for Moldovan alcohol, pushing Belarus and Romania to second and third place with shares of 17.1% and 14.5%, respectively,” – as quoted from NBM information, Moldovan edition mold-street.com
At the same time, Ukraine was on the first place among the importers of alcohol to Moldova, Russia – on the eighth.
In the first quarter of this year, Moldova increased the export of alcohol and ethyl alcohol by 26.8%, which in monetary terms amounted to $ 53.47 million.
The Kiev analytical Club of Experts, in order to promote Ukrainian wine, began a series of seminars and tastings. You can learn more about it by following the link

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“Experts Club” held a seminar to teach journalists basic first aid skills

The analytical center “Club of Experts” in Kiev within the framework of the initiative on training of journalists in basic skills of rendering the first pre-medical care has held the first seminar-workshop. The event was organized by the Club of Experts, the Adonis network of medical centers, and “Help For Ukraine” Charitable Foundation, “Hromada Priirpenia Foundation” Charity Foundation; the information partner – “Interfax-Ukraine” and Open4Business portal.

The seminar was attended by the representatives of mass media from different regions of Ukraine, whose work is connected with risk and possibility of facing emergency situations. According to the participants, mastering basic first aid skills can be of vital importance at critical times, related to their professional activities in wartime conditions.

The seminar’s keynote speaker, Adonis Medical Group anesthesiologist Mariana Bolyuk, is the co-author of 12 scientific publications and has a wealth of experience in the medical field. In her presentation, she covered important aspects of pre-medical care, including algorithms for basic life support, types of bleeding and how to stop it. Practical techniques, such as determining the pulse on main arteries and applying a turnstile, were also practiced at the seminar.

According to Maxim Urakin, organizer of the seminar and founder of the “Expert Club,” in the current situation it is important to develop first aid skills among journalists because the role of their profession and the risk they face daily has increased significantly in war conditions.

“According to information published in the media, since last February, 61 media workers have already been killed and about 500 more journalists have been wounded. Therefore, we are deeply aware of the importance of training journalists in basic first aid skills. Our colleagues constantly face risks and have the responsibility of informing the public under difficult conditions. Therefore, we should strive to provide journalists not only with information, but also with the means to preserve and protect their lives and health,” Urakin emphasized.

In the future, the organizers of the seminar plan to develop this training project, covering more media representatives and expanding their knowledge and skills in first aid. Journalists with a basic knowledge of premedical care will be able to act more effectively in difficult situations, contributing to quick and effective aid to victims. First-aid training for journalists in the future must become an integral part of their professional training and responsibility to society. According to the organizers, it is important to support and develop such initiatives in the future so that journalists are prepared for emergencies and contribute to general safety and well-being.

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Macroeconomic Indicators of Ukraine from Club of Experts in March-April 2023

The main macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine testify to the increasing role of international structures in keeping Ukrainian economy in operating mode.

The International Monetary Fund, which earlier estimated the dynamics of the Ukrainian economy this year from 3% of its decline to 1% of growth, is inclined to the fact that GDP growth in 2023 may be at the upper limit of this range. At that, as the head of the National Bank Andrey Pyshnyy said, the negative scenario of Ukraine’s GDP fall by 10% this year and 2% next year, contained in the EFF program, confirms the IMF readiness to support Ukraine even in the worst case scenario.

The World Bank estimates that Ukraine’s GDP may grow by 0.5% in 2023 and by 3.5% in 2024 after falling by nearly 30% (29.2%, to be exact) last year. At the same time, the World Bank in January 2023 predicted rapid growth of Ukrainian GDP: by 3.3% this year and by 4.1% next year.

The International Monetary Fund in its April review of the global economy (World Economic Outlook: A Rocky Recovery) once again abandoned its forecast for Ukraine beyond 2023, although in the EFF program approved at the end of March it gave a forecast until 2027.

Ukraine’s real gross domestic product, after growing by 3.4% in 2021, fell by 29.1% in 2022 due to full-scale Russian military aggression, such official data was released by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine.

The National Bank of Ukraine improved its forecast for the growth of gross domestic product of the country in 2023 to 2% from 0.3% in the January forecast, which is largely due to the reduction of security risks, the restoration of the energy system, as well as soft fiscal policy.

International rating agency S&P has affirmed long-term issuer credit ratings of Ukrainian capital Kiev in foreign and national currency “CCC+” with a stable outlook, indicating that the city has demonstrated good financial performance in 2022, despite the difficult environment.

The founder of the Kiev analytical center “Club of Experts” drew attention to a significant reduction in the foreign trade balance of Ukraine. “The negative balance of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods at the beginning of 2023 increased by more than 3 times and amounted to almost $4 billion, we will watch the next months, but if this trend persists until the fall of 2023, the country may face a strong imbalance of the main macroeconomic indicators,” – said Maksim Urakin.

According to the authorities, in January-February 2023, Ukraine’s foreign trade deficit with goods increased 3.4 times compared to the same period of 2022 – up to $3.713 billion from $1.083 billion.

At the same time, the state budget deficit of Ukraine in March 2023 decreased to 59.2 billion UAH from 88.8 billion UAH in February, including the general fund deficit to 72.6 billion UAH from 93.2 billion UAH.

State budget expenditures for support of the AFU in the form of purchase of military equipment, weapons, ammunition, defense products, and personal protective equipment, amounted to UAH 34.4 billion in March (15.3% of total expenditures), compared with UAH 31.9 billion in February (14%), and UAH 28.7 billion in January (15.6%).

Ukraine’s public debt and publicly guaranteed debt in 2022 increased by $13.4 billion to 78.5% of GDP by the end of 2022 from 48.9% in 2021.

According to the National Bank, the deficit of Ukraine’s consolidated balance of payments in February was $722 million after a surplus of $1.208 billion in January, but the deficit is 2.1 times smaller than in February 2022, when it was $1.52 billion.

International reserves of Ukraine as of April 1, 2023, according to preliminary data, amounted to $31.878 billion, which is 10% or $3 billion more than in February 2023, it is connected with significant receipts from international partners of Ukraine.

Consumer price growth in Ukraine accelerated to 1.5% in March 2023 from 0.7% in February and 0.8% in January. At the same time, inflation in April 2022 was 3.1%, so in annual terms in April 2023 it decreased to 17.9% from 21.3% in March, 24.9% in February and 26.6% in December. Core inflation in the past month also fell to 0.5% from 1.5% in March, returning to the level of February.

Ukraine from the beginning of 2022/2023 marketing year (MY, July-June) to April 10 exported 38.82 million tons of grains, including 22.86 million tons of corn (58.9% of total supplies), 13.34 million tons of wheat (34.4%) and 2.3 million tons of barley (5.9%). Further exports of oilseeds and grains largely depend on the extension of the so-called “grain deal”.

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“Club of Experts” gathers winners of VII All-Ukrainian Wine Tasting Competition on May 18

On May 18, 2023, the capital’s Club of Experts will host a bright event for wine lovers – Wine Evening “Consumer Tasting of the Best Craft Wines of Ukraine-2023”. The event will feature the products of the best Ukrainian winemakers based on the results of the VIII All-Ukrainian Tasting Competition “Variety and Terroir. Micro winemaking. Unbreakable”, which took place on April 1, 2023.

According to Natalia Blagopoluchna, President of the Ukrainian Association of Winemakers and Sommeliers, the Wine Evening will create an opportunity for each guest to try themselves as a wine expert and taster, gain rich experience and taste the unique flavors of the best Ukrainian wines.

“Wine Evening provides a great opportunity to discover the diversity of Ukrainian wine. You may already be familiar with some of these brands, but the tasting is a chance to taste them in a new light, compare them with other wines, listen to the experts’ opinions and gain new knowledge about winemaking,” she said.

In his turn, the founder of the Club of Experts, Maksim Urakin, emphasized that the Tasting Evening is an event where you can meet like-minded people, communicate with experts, exchange experience, ideas and impressions. It is a place where new business relationships and partnerships are created, new ideas and projects emerge.

“Our competition for the Best Wine of the Wine Evening is of great interest to the guests of the evening. The producer of the most delicious wine, determined by the participants of the event, will receive a Diploma from the Club of Experts. This competition not only raises the mood, but also creates friendly competition between producers, encouraging them to continuously improve,” he emphasized.
In addition, according to Maksim Urakin, today more and more people in the world are showing interest in craft wines and want to learn more about the history and technology of this beverage. Events such as the Wine Evening are becoming important and necessary, they help to develop wine culture, open new horizons for winemakers and consumers, and make a huge contribution to the formation of the Ukrainian wine market.

Guests will be invited to taste the winning wines accompanied by craft gastronomy. The program of the evening includes the best sparkling rosé wine of 2021 from TM My Wine and Eduard Gorodetsky, the best Riesling of 2021 from Vladimir Simakin, Chardonnay of 2022 from TM Babchuk Winery, and many others. Full list of winners of the VIII All-Ukrainian Tasting Competition “Variety and Terroir. Micro winemaking. Unbreakable”:
1.    Nomination “Sparkling wines” – “Sparkling pink, 2021”, TM “My Wine”, Eduard Gorodetsky
2.    Nomination “Best Riesling” – “Riesling, 2021”, Vladimir Simakin
3.    Nomination “Best Chardonnay” – “Chardonnay, 2022”, TM “Babchuk Winery”
4.    Nomination “White Local Variety” – “Zagrei, 2022”, National Scientific Center “V.E. Tairov Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking
5.    Nomination “Orange wines” – “Orange, 2021”, TM “Kovacs Wines”
6.    Nomination “Pink wines” – Pinot Noir, 2021″, TM “My Wine”, Eduard Gorodetsky
7.    Nomination “Best Pinot Noir” – “Pinot Noir, 2020”, TM “46 Parallel” – gold medal
8.    Nomination “Best Merlot” – “Merlot, 2020”, TM “NAROVYLO WINERY”
9.    Nomination “Best Cabernet Sauvignon” – “Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021”, TM “Mon Crafto”
10.    Nomination “Red local variety” – “Aliberne, 2020”, TM “NAROVYLO WINERY”
11.    Nomination “Red Blend” – “KS/KF/Merlot, 2020”, TM “NAROVYLO WINERY” – Grand Prix of the Competition (the best wine of the Competition), 100 points from the Chairman of the Jury Ricardo Nunez!
12.    Nomination “Dessert wines” – “Muscat of the Carpathians, 2014”, TM “Kovach Wines”

It should be noted that each nomination represents unique wines that have been recognized as the best in their categories.
The cost of participation in the event is 1000 UAH, which includes tasting of all presented wines and delicious culinary accompaniments from craft chefs. This event will be a real treat for gourmets and wine lovers, as well as a great opportunity for winemakers to present their products to a wide range of professionals and wine connoisseurs.

The organizers of the Wine Evening are:
1.    Ukrainian Association of Winemakers and Sommeliers;
2.    Club of experts.

Information Partners: Interfax-Ukraine news agency; Open4business Internet portal.
General partner: UKRSADVINPROM.

Speaker of the Wine Evening: President of the Ukrainian Association of Winemakers and Sommeliers, wine expert, head of the First Sommelier School in Ukraine – Natalia Blagopoluchna.

Address of the event: 51/1a Tyutyunnyk St., Kyiv, Ukraine
Phone number for accreditation 0661480354

Do not miss the unique opportunity to join the Wine Evening “Consumer tasting of the best craft wines of Ukraine-2023”. For those who appreciate the culture of wine, this is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the fascinating world of winemaking, meet those who share your passion, and discover new horizons of taste.

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Macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine from Club of experts at beginning of 2023

The Club of Experts and Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics, have prepared a summary of the main macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine in the beginning of 2023.
So, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine revised the macro forecast for 2023, worsening the GDP growth forecast from 3.2% to 1%, primarily because of the assumption that the military operations will not end in the middle of the year, and will last “almost a whole year”, said Deputy Minister Sergei Sobolev.
Ukraine’s real gross domestic product fell 31.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 after falling 30.8% in the third quarter, 37.2% in the second and 15.1% in the first, the State Statistics Service said Monday. At the same time, according to the consensus forecast of eight companies and non-governmental institutions, which was released by the Center for Economic Strategy, the real gross domestic product of Ukraine in 2023 will decline by 0.1%, with estimates ranging from a decline of 4.6% to growth of 5.5%. The economic recovery will be barely visible this year, expected to moderate GDP growth of 2%, which will bring real GDP at the end of this year at 70-72% of prewar 2021, such macroeconomic forecast published by ICU investment group.

According to deputy governor of the NBU Serhiy Mykolaychuk, the economic situation in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2023 is developing much better than the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) expected in its January forecast, especially in the energy supply, so it is highly probable that the central bank will improve its current GDP growth forecast for this year by 0.3% at the end of April. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund forecasts the dynamics of the Ukrainian economy this year from 3% decline to 1% growth followed by 3.2% growth in 2024 and 6.5% growth in 2025.
And the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which previously estimated the dynamics of the Ukrainian economy this year from 3% decline to 1% growth, is inclined to the fact that GDP growth in 2023 may be at the upper limit of this range.
Ukraine’s GDP, after falling by 29.2% last year, will grow by 0.5% this year and by 3.5% next year, predicts the World Bank, which in January this year expected more rapid growth: by 3.3% in 2023 and by 4.1% in 2024.
At the same time, the real gross domestic product of Ukraine after growing by 3.4% in 2021 in 2022 due to full-scale Russian military aggression fell by 29.1%, and the negative balance of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-February 2023 increased 3.4 times compared to the same period in 2022 – to $3.713 billion from $1.083 billion.
The state budget deficit of Ukraine in February 2023 increased to 88.8 billion UAH from 72.3 billion UAH in January, including the general fund deficit to 93.2 billion UAH from 78.9 billion UAH.
The aggregate state debt of Ukraine in February decreased by 0.5%: in dollar terms by $0.59 billion – to $116.01 billion, in UAH terms – by UAH 21.62 billion, to UAH 4.24 trillion.
At the same time, at the end of January 2023, Ukraine’s consolidated balance of payments was $1.2 billion in surplus, while in January 2022 the deficit was $1.8 billion.
International reserves of Ukraine as of March 1, 2023, according to preliminary data, amounted to $28.865 billion, which is 3.5%, or $1.064 billion, less than in January 2023 due to interventions of the National Bank to sell currency to cover the difference between supply and demand in the foreign exchange market.
The growth of consumer prices in Ukraine in February 2023 slowed to 0.7% from 0.8% in January, returning to the level of December last year.

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In Kyiv VIII All-Ukrainian Tasting Competition will be held in Kyiv on April 1

On April 1, 2023 in Kyiv will be held VIII All-Ukrainian Tasting Competition “Variety and terroir. Micro winemaking. Unbreakable.”

Organizers of the Competition: All-Ukrainian Association of Winemakers and Sommeliers; Association of Cavistes of Ukraine; the First Sommelier School in Ukraine “Master Class” (since 2000).

General Information Partner: DRINKS magazine, DRINKS+ media holding,

Information Partners: “Club of Experts”, “Kyiv Diplomatic”.

We invite you to take part in this Contest, which will give you the opportunity to present your wines, compare them with the wines of your colleagues, understand what to pay attention to, taking into account the place of the wine in the rating of the Contest, get strong information support and advertising of your wine through our

Information Partners. For the first time, wine distillates take part in the Contest.

The objectives of the Contest are to confirm the influence of terroir on the character of Ukrainian wines, to determine the best wines and distillates in their nominations through professional “blind” tasting, to emphasize the important role of micro winemaking in Ukraine today.

The competition will be held in order to:

1.            Evaluation of varietal wines of Ukrainian micro winemakers (craft production).

2.            Evaluation of wine distillates and determination of the “Absolute Winner”.

3.            Determination of the “Absolute Winner of the Competition” (the best wine according to the total score from the jury).

4.            Determination of the “Winners of the nominations of the Competition” (12 nominations).

The wines of the “Absolute Winner of the Contest”, “Best Distillate” and “Winners of the Contest nominations” will be presented in November 2023 at the InterContinental Hotel (Kyiv) at the VIII International Forum of Winemakers and Sommeliers.

http://www.sommelier.in.ua/spip.php?rubrique42

http://wines.org.ua/klub-ekspertov/

http://wines.org.ua/video-prezentacii/

https://wines.org.ua/vseukrainskij-degustacijnij-konkurs-sort-ta-terruar/

The jury of the Competition will include representatives of the Participants, the best sommeliers and cavists of Ukraine, industry experts, media representatives, and foreign colleagues.

The President of the jury is Dr. Ricardo F. Nunez.

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the Varietal and Terroir Tasting Competition will be held in Ukraine for the 7th time in this format. More details on our websites:

http://www.sommelier.in.ua/spip.php?rubrique112      

http://sommelier.in.ua/spip.php?article735

http://www.sommelier.in.ua/spip.php?article723

Such an original and highly professional format of the Contest is the only one in Ukraine – wines and distillates from small producers (craft production) are evaluated, each participant can become a member of the jury, communicate with industry professionals, see the results of the tasting in the final tables of the jury immediately after the tasting.

President of the Ukrainian Association of Winemakers and Sommeliers Natalia Blagopoluchna

Open4business is a media partner

Association Ukrsadvinprom – organizational partner

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