Business news from Ukraine

“Agrotrade” exported over 390 thsd tonnes of grain

In the 2023-2024 marketing year (MY), Agrotrade exported more than 390 thsd tonnes of grain, up 10% compared to the previous season, the company’s press service reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, 51.7% of all exports were the company’s own agricultural products, 48.3% were from third-party producers. The main buyers of grain were the EU, North Africa and the Middle East.
“Summarizing the results of the last season, I would like to note that the opening of the Ukrainian grain corridor and its rhythmic operation made our work much easier. It has added predictability, so we can now plan deliveries for a longer period. This allowed us to export more grain than we had forecast. In the new season, we expect that the company’s trade structure will partially return to the pre-war format – sales on EXW and CPT bases will reappear, and forward contracts will increase, as the market situation stabilizes and competition intensifies,” said Andriy But, Director of Foreign Trade Department of Agrotrade Group.
Among the company’s products, corn, wheat, soybeans, and rapeseed were in the highest demand among buyers. In total, in the 2023/24 season, Agrotrade exported grain to 14 countries.
The Agrotrade Group is a vertically integrated holding company with a full agro-industrial cycle (production, processing, storage and trade of agricultural products). It cultivates over 70 thousand hectares of land in Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava and Kharkiv regions. Its main crops are sunflower, corn, winter wheat, soybeans and rapeseed. It has its own network of elevators with a simultaneous storage capacity of 570 thousand tons.
The group also produces hybrid seeds of corn and sunflower, barley, and winter wheat. In 2014, a seed plant with a capacity of 20 thousand tons of seeds per year was built on the basis of Kolos seed farm (Kharkiv region). In 2018, Agrotrade launched its own brand Agroseeds on the market.
Vsevolod Kozhemiako is the founder and CEO of Agrotrade.

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Ukraine increased egg exports in first half of year

According to the Union of Poultry Breeders of Ukraine, in January-June 2024, Ukraine increased egg exports to 36.98 thousand tons. Including eggs in the shell, national producers exported 32.98 thousand tons for 33.711 million dollars.

At the same time, egg exports in the first half of 2023 amounted to 29.7 thousand tons. In particular, 25.737 thousand tons of shell eggs were exported for 34.745 million dollars.

The largest importers of Ukrainian eggs are EU countries, in particular Italy and Poland, as well as Singapore, the UAE and Israel.

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Ukraine exported $54 mln worth of aluminum and aluminum products in first half of year

According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, exports of aluminum and aluminum products in the first six months of 2024 increased by 12.8% year-on-year to $54.175 million ($10.383 million in June).
In 2023, Ukraine increased imports of aluminum and aluminum products by 7.7% to $366.463 million.
Last year, exports of aluminum and aluminum products increased by 0.7% compared to 2022 to $97.616 million. In addition, in 2022, Ukraine reduced imports of aluminum and aluminum products by 33.4% to $340.398 million.
In 2022, exports of aluminum and aluminum products decreased by 42.7% compared to 2021, to $96.972 million.
Aluminum is widely used as a structural material. The main advantages of aluminum in this capacity are its lightness, stamping resistance, corrosion resistance, high thermal conductivity, and non-toxicity of its compounds. In particular, these properties have made aluminum extremely popular in the production of cookware, aluminum foil in the food industry, and packaging. The first three properties have made aluminum the main raw material in the aviation and aerospace industries (recently it has been replaced by composite materials, primarily carbon fiber). After the construction and production of packaging, such as aluminum cans and foil, the energy sector is the largest consumer of the metal.

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ECA supported exports by UAH 4.6 bln

The Export Credit Agency of Ukraine (ECA) supported exports worth UAH 4.6 billion in the first half of 2024, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said.
“In the first half of the year, the Export Credit Agency of Ukraine increased the volume of export support by almost 2.5 times compared to the same period last year,” the press service of the Ministry of Economy quoted the Vice Prime Minister as saying.
It is emphasized that the development of non-resource exports is one of the key areas of the “Made in Ukraine” economic policy, and ECA instruments help to achieve these goals, as banks recognize ECA insurance as sufficient collateral for a loan, which simplifies and reduces the cost of obtaining a loan.
In addition, cooperation with the ECA reduces the risks of the exporter and the bank, reduces the cost of financing and increases opportunities for business development, Svyrydenko explained.
The three leading regions are as follows: Kyiv – UAH 2.78 billion, Lviv region – UAH 1.11 billion, Vinnytsia region – UAH 234.2 million.
The top five countries to which Ukrainian producers sold their products in January-June (in terms of the value of concluded and insured contracts) were Poland, the UAE, Azerbaijan, Slovakia and Germany.
The most popular export goods were dairy products, wood and wood products, toys, clothing, and processed vegetables.
The tools of the Export Credit Agency of Ukraine are one of the elements of the “Made in Ukraine” policy, which was presented by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. Its goal is to support non-resource exports, develop production and attract investment in the real sector, the Ministry of Economy reminded.

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Ferroalloy plants reduced exports by more than 11 times, imports increased 15 times

In January-June this year, Ukraine reduced exports of ferroalloys in physical terms by 11.4 times compared to the same period last year, down to 24,206 thousand tons from 275,854 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Tuesday, exports of ferroalloys in monetary terms decreased 8.2 times to $29.345 million from $240.401 million.
The main exports were to Poland (30.50% of supplies in monetary terms), Turkey (22.13%) and Romania (13.20%).
In addition, in January-June, Ukraine imported 54.932 thousand tons of these products, compared to 3.745 thousand tons in January-June 2023 (an increase of 14.7 times). In monetary terms, imports increased 5.4 times to $90.924 million from $16.874 million.
Imports were mainly from Poland (43.97%), Norway (13.68%) and Kazakhstan (12.71%).
As reported, Pokrovsky Mining and Processing Plant (PGOK, formerly Ordzhonikidze Mining and Processing Plant) and Marganetsky Mining and Processing Plant (MGPK, both in Dnipropetrovska oblast), both part of Privat Group, stopped mining and processing crude manganese ore in late October and early November 2023, while NFP and ZFP stopped smelting ferroalloys. Later, ferroalloy plants resumed production at a minimum level.
In 2023, Ukraine decreased exports of ferroalloys in physical terms by 1.5% compared to 2022, to 344.173 thousand tons, while in monetary terms, exports of ferroalloys decreased by 47.2% to $297.595 million. The main exports were to Poland (52.79% of supplies in monetary terms), Turkey (14.13%) and the Netherlands (8.46%).
In addition, in 2023, Ukraine imported 14.203 thousand tons of these products, which is 30.9% less than in 2022. In monetary terms, imports decreased by 41% to $42.927 million. Imports were carried out mainly from Poland (23.94%), India (16.08%) and Armenia (14.35%).
Prior to the nationalization of the financial institution, PrivatBank organized the business of ZZF, NZF, Stakhanovsky ZF (located on the NCT), Pokrovske (formerly Ordzhonikidze) and Marganetsky mining and processing plants. Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is controlled by EastOne Group, created in the fall of 2007 as a result of the restructuring of Interpipe Group, and Privat Group.

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Ukraine increased copper imports by 33.4%, reduced exports by 5.4%

In January-June this year, Ukrainian companies increased imports of copper and copper products in value terms by 33.4% year-on-year to $75.101 million.
According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine on Tuesday, exports of copper and copper products increased by 5.4% to $41.555 million over the period under review.
In June, Ukraine imported copper worth $10.114 million and exported it worth $8.658 million.
In addition, in January-June 2024, Ukraine increased imports of nickel and products by 68.3% compared to the same period in 2023 to $12.954 million (in June – $1.880 million), aluminum and aluminum products by 24.1% to $208.745 million (in June – $36.852 million).
At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 3.9% to $560 thousand (in June – $137 thousand), imports of tin and tin products increased by 19.5% to $1,350 million (in June – $330 thousand), and increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 37.4% to $28,340 million (in June – $5,110 million).
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in the first six months of 2024 increased by 12.8% compared to the same period a year earlier to $54.175 million (in June – $10.383 million), lead and lead products decreased by 30.8% to $5.404 million (in June – $1.070 million), nickel and nickel products amounted to $422 thousand (in June – $180 thousand), while in January-June 2023 it was $125 thousand.
Zinc exports for the first six months of this year amounted to $98 thousand (in June – $14 thousand), while in January-June 2023 it was $72 thousand. Exports of tin and products amounted to $181 thousand (in June – $35 thousand) against $52 thousand in the same period a year earlier.
As reported, in 2023, Ukraine increased imports of copper and copper products by 2.2 times compared to 2022 – up to $140.795 million, while exports decreased by 20.1% to $72.078 million.
In addition, in 2023, Ukraine decreased imports of nickel and products by 74.2% compared to 2022, to $15.391 million, and increased imports of aluminum and aluminum products by 7.7%, to $366.463 million.
At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 65.2% to $989 thousand, imports of tin and tin products by 23% to $2.728 million, but increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 18.8% to $45.966 million.
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products last year increased by 0.7% compared to 2022 to $97.616 million, lead and lead products increased by 23.5% to $14.778 million, and nickel and nickel products amounted to $532 thousand, while in 2022 it was $1.268 million.
In 2023, the company exported $130 thousand worth of zinc, compared to $1.331 million in 2022. Exports of tin and tin products amounted to $159 thousand against $424 thousand in 2022.

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