In January-September 2024, Ukraine imported 526.545 thousand tons of salt worth $69.844 million, which is 65.6% and 6.64% more than in the same period last year, respectively. According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), Egypt became the largest supplier of salt to Ukraine, accounting for 55.41% of total imports worth $38.7 million in January-September 2024.
Turkey and Romania accounted for 15.7% and 15.6% of supplies, for which these countries earned $10.96 million and $10.81 million, respectively.
A year earlier, Ukraine’s top three salt importers were Turkey with a 30.9% share, Egypt and Romania with 21.6% and 20.9%, respectively. Their revenues from salt sales amounted to $20.3 million, $14.11 million and $13.697 million, respectively.
In January-September 2024, Ukraine reduced its salt exports to a record low of 21 tons, for which it earned $21 thousand. Its buyers were Romania, which purchased 17 tons (80.9%), Moldova and Spain purchased 1 ton each, which amounted to 4.8% for each country.
A year earlier, salt exports amounted to 38 tons, for which Ukraine earned $155 thousand. The exports of this product, which decreased, were supported by Romania, which bought 35 tons (94.6%), and Moldova with 1 ton (2.7%).
As reported, in pre-war 2021, Ukraine exported 710.04 thousand tons of salt for $28.32 million, while in 2022 it fell fivefold in physical terms to 142.038 thousand tons, and revenue fell even more, to $3.82 million. In 2021, the main buyers of Ukrainian salt were Poland (39.1%), Hungary (27.4%), and Romania (7.3%). In 2021, Ukraine imported 142.81 thousand tons of salt worth $12.92 million.
After the occupation of the country’s largest salt producer, Artemsol, by Russian troops, Ukrainian salt exports amounted to only 149 tons for $32 thousand in the first half of 2023.
One of the largest operators of the Ukrainian grain market, JV Nibulon LLC, shipped the second batch of 63 thsd tonnes of wheat to Egypt under the tender of the General Authority for Supply of Goods of the Egyptian government GASC via the Danube Grain Corridor, the grain trader’s press service reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, the grain was loaded on the EDFU vessel, owned by the Egyptian state-owned company National Navigation Company (NNC), at the anchorage PGM-2 of TTS Operator SRL (Constanza).
“Thanks to the well-coordinated and professional work of the Nibulon fleet team and our strategic partners, TTS (Transport Trade Services), the daily grain loading rate reached a record 18.2 thousand tons. This high productivity is very important, because along with a stable cargo flow, it allows us to reduce delivery costs,” said Nibulon’s Chief Logistics Officer Sergey Kalkutin, Director of Logistics at Nibulon.
He emphasized that such voyages allow the Danube Grain Corridor to compete with the ports of Greater Odesa.
In times of war and permanent danger, having a full-fledged alternative logistics channel for grain exports is not an additional option, but a vital necessity on which the world’s food security depends, Nibulon believes.
As reported, in August, Nibulon delivered the first shipment of Ukrainian grain to Egypt under the GASC.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, a one-time storage capacity of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever volume of 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses due to Russia’s full-scale military invasion in 2022 exceeded $416 million.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has created a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines, and was forced to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
On July 23, 2024, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Ukraine Ayman Elgammal held a diplomatic reception on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the Revolution of July 23, 1952.
On July 23, Egypt celebrates a public holiday – the Day of the Revolution of 1952, which resulted in the overthrow of the feudal monarchical regime of King Farouk and the establishment of a republic.
In 1953, Egypt was proclaimed a republic. Since 1971, the official name of the country is the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The solemn event on the occasion of the holiday was attended by honored guests: heads of diplomatic missions of foreign countries accredited in Ukraine, representatives of the leadership of state authorities, including Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa Maksym Subkh, Islamic religious figures, members of the Egyptian diaspora, educators and cultural figures.
At the beginning of his speech, Ambassador of Egypt to Ukraine Ayman Elgammal congratulated all those present on an important date in the history of the Arab Republic of Egypt, highlighted the main stages of Egypt’s formation as a sovereign country and economic achievements over the past 10 years – during the revolution that took place on June 30, 2013 and the establishment of the third Egyptian Republic in 2014.
In his speech, Mr. Ambassador emphasized that our countries have established close friendly relations in political, economic, commercial and investment spheres.
“The trade balance between Egypt and Ukraine before the coronavirus pandemic and the current war was $2.1 billion, and in 2023 it amounted to about $1.3 billion. Egypt is still the main trading partner for Ukraine in Africa and the Middle East and the seventh trading partner in the world, and the beginning of this year shows progress in returning the trade balance to pre-war levels,” the diplomat said.
He also emphasized that Egypt and Ukraine have a long history of cooperation in the space sector, and the first Egyptian satellite was designed and built in Ukraine with the participation of Egyptian experts.
In his speech, the Head of the Diplomatic Mission elaborated on the recent history of Egypt after the 1952 revolution, when his country witnessed the wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973, where more than 30% of the country, namely the Sinai Peninsula, was occupied for 6 years and, like Ukraine, underwent severe trials.
However, Egypt managed to liberate all of its lands not only through military force, but mainly through diplomacy, applying to the International Court of Justice to return the last disputed territory, the Egyptian city of Taba, even 16 years after the end of hostilities in 1973.
Drawing on this page of history, the Ambassador emphasized his country’s unwavering position in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, as these principles have defined Egypt’s position on all conflicts, including Ukraine, since 2014.
“In addition, Egypt believes that no conflict can be resolved by military means alone, as diplomacy plays a primary role in resolving any conflict, so we participated in the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee on the Ukrainian Crisis, which was established by the Arab League and at the initiative of African presidents after the outbreak of full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. During the OAS Summit27 , President Al-Sisi called on world leaders to work toward a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine. In addition, Egypt supports all efforts of the parties to resolve the conflict peacefully,” the diplomat said.
On behalf of the Ukrainian government, the Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa, Ukrainian diplomat and historian Maksym Subkh expressed congratulations on the occasion.
Active Group and Experts Club have conducted a joint study on the attitudes of Ukrainians towards the countries of East Asia and the Middle East. The study was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency in June 2024. The research was presented by Maksym Urakin and Oleksandr Poznyi. The results of the study are as follows:
The results of the survey are as follows:
Completely positive – 7.9%.
Mostly positive – 38.8
Mostly negative – 13.4
Completely negative – 1.2
Difficult to answer – 38.8%.
Positive – Negative – 32.1
On January 25, 1992, diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the Arab Republic of Egypt were established.
The joint research by Active Group and Experts Club on the attitudes of Ukrainians towards the countries of East Asia and the Middle East was conducted in April-May 2024. It covers such countries as Turkey, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, India, China, Republic of Korea, DPRK, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria, and Iraq. Full information on the research is available on the website of the Club of Experts at
Contrary to forecasts, Ukrainian corn has started to rise in price on world markets due to increased demand from China, Turkey, Egypt and the European Union, according to the analytical cooperative “Pusk”, created within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council (AAC).
“The expectations of the trade that with the arrival of a new corn crop from Argentina on the world market, demand and prices for Ukrainian grain would fall, did not materialize. Argentine new crop is sold at higher prices than Ukrainian corn. We can predict a rise in prices for corn from Ukraine in the coming weeks,” the analysts said.
According to them, China is actively contracting Ukrainian corn. Other importers, such as Turkey, Egypt, Italy, and Spain, have also started buying a lot of Ukrainian corn. In seaports, the conditional prices for it have risen to $142-145/ton and have been increasing for a week and a half. The supply is sinking, while demand is stable.
“It can be predicted that amid demand, prices will add $2-3 per tonne per week and reach at least $150/tonne on a CPT basis by the end of March,” the experts emphasized.
They said that in April, the main factor of corn price changes will be the information on the grain harvest in Brazil. In April, there will be more reliable information about the harvest in Brazil: the planted areas, soil moisture, and crop condition. This will affect the global market. If the drought continues in Brazil and the harvest is reduced, the price will rise. But for now, this is one of the scenarios. In case of rainfall in Brazil, the situation on the global corn market will be different.
On a DAP basis, Ukrainian corn is traded for delivery in March-April to Italy, Austria and Germany in the range of $192-197/ton, Pusk summarized.
Africa’s population growth rate threatens that the continent’s resources will no longer be enough to meet the needs of its inhabitants, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday.
“On the African continent, we will reach the 1.6 billion mark within a few years. Africa is abundant with resources, but they cannot help everyone,” Arab news quoted the president as saying at the first Global Congress on Population, Health and Development, which runs from September 5 to 8 in Cairo.
He noted that the congress should be held annually due to the urgency of the problem.
According to the president, the number of Egyptian citizens reaches 105 million, and in addition to them, there are another 9 million people in the country, but the Egyptian government, unlike some other countries, manages to cope with the related challenges. At the same time, al-Sisi clarified, the ratio between national resources and population growth has become less optimal over the past 75 years, and this has affected the health and education system.
For his part, Egyptian Health Minister Khalid Abdel Ghaffar emphasized that demographic growth is the most serious challenge for the country. Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Sayed noted that although the birth rate has declined, Egypt’s population has grown by another 25 million people over the past 10 years.
Earlier, the Experts Club project released an analytical video about economic relations between Egypt and Ukraine.
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