Georgia exported 38.2 million bottles of wine from grapes (0.75-liter bottles) in January-June 2018, 21% more than in 2017, the Agriculture Ministry’s National Wine Agency reported. Russia was the leading importer of Georgian wine in the period, boosting imports 24.4% to 24.022 million bottles or 62.9% of the total. Other major importers included Ukraine – 4.191 million bottles (11% of the total), China – 2.976 million (7.8%), Kazakhstan – 1.652 million (4.3%) and Poland 1.164 million (4.1%).
A total of 190 Georgian companies exported wine in the six months, 18 more than a year earlier. Exports to countries in Europe and Asia, and to the U.S. and other countries, increased substantially. Georgia also exported 8.4 million bottles of brandy (0.5-liter bottles), 23% more than in H1 2017, to 20 countries. Revenue rose 6% to $17 million. Overall exports of wine, brandy and other products – chacha, other alcoholic beverages, wine materials and brandy spirits – were worth $148.3 million, 21.5% more. Georgia exported wine to 48 countries in H1 2018, up from 44 in the same period last year. Revenue from the exports rose 28% to $90 million.
Almost all groups of Ukrainian-made commodities demonstrated the growth of exports in the first quarter of 2018 year-over-year, however, exports of timber and paper grew most (by 39%, or $140 million), the Economic Development and Trade Ministry said on its website. “The EU remains the largest trading partner of Ukraine. Exports of goods to the EU during the first quarter of 2018 amounted to $5.07 billion, its share was 44.4% in the total exports of goods from the country,” the ministry said.
Exports of chemicals and related products for the period increased by 29%, or $134 million, those of light industry products grew by 23% ($58 million), metal by 23% ($558 million).
Farm produce and processed food accounted for the largest share of Ukrainian exports (38%), while the share of metallurgy was 26%, that of machine building was 11%, and mineral products 9%, the ministry said.
As reported, in January-March 2018, exports of goods from Ukraine increased by 10.3% year-over-year, to $11.435 billion, while imports grew by 13.2%, to $ 12.636 billion.
The State Export Control Service of Ukraine has designed a draft anti-corruption program for 2018-2019. According to the document posted on the website of the authority, the program is intended to create the effective corruption prevention and reveal system in the authority based on new principles of making and implementing the anti-corruption policy.
Among measures to be taken is the analysis of data in relation to corruption risks in the authority, as well as factor that give rise to it; regular monitoring of the implementation of tasks and functions by the authority with the purpose of revealing and removing conditions giving rise to corruption risks and corruption crimes.
The measures also include the provision of financial supervision through declaration of property, income, expenses of officials and employees of the authority, creation of proper conditions for receiving information from whistleblowers who exposes corruption and crimes linked to corruption and the creation of the system of their protection and keeping information in secret.
According to the analysis of corruption risks posted on the website of the authority, corruption risks with medium and high priority are the following: providing advice on processing and submission of necessary documents in the field of export control to the authority; acceleration or delay in the processing of applications of subjects of international transfers of goods to obtain permits for the right to export and import military goods; a lack of a clear procedure for investigating offenses in the sphere of state export control and a lack of authority of the relevant department to identify these offenses independently; leakage of information from electronic databases operating by the authority and other risks.
Ukraine has received the right to export beef to the Turkish market, according to the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
This decision was made following the results of work of the technical mission of the directorate general for protection and control of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey on assessing state control over beef production, which operated in Ukraine in late April 2018.
Turkish inspectors audited the system of state control over production of beef in Ukraine and inspected slaughter enterprises that are interested in exporting their products to Turkey.
At the same time, the service notes that work on agreeing the form of a veterinary certificate for exports of Ukrainian beef to Turkey is currently at the final stages.
Ukroliya (Poltava region) has certified organic products in accordance with the USDA Organic standard of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to a company press release, this certificate opens up the prospect of supplying organic vegetable oil to the United States market for the company. The USDA Organic/NOP certificate covers all aspects of production, processing, transportation and sale of organic products.
Earlier, the company certified its products according to the organic products standard of the European Union and the Swiss standard BioSuisse.
As reported, in November 2017 Ukroliya launched a plant for production of organic oil, Ukroliya Organic, in the village of Dykanka (Poltava region). Investments in it amounted to about UAH 50 million. The company plans to process 18,000 tonnes of sunflower, 50,000 tonnes of soybeans a year, produce 7,020 tonnes of organic sunflower oil, 6,750 tonnes of organic soybean oil, 7,100 tonnes of cake, and 3,000 tonnes of sunflower husk. Ukroliya was founded in 2001. It is engaged in production and sale of packed and bulk sunflower oil, sunflower meal, and husk. Its production facilities are located in the village of Dykanka and Zenkiv town (Poltava region).
