The Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP) is launching the Danube Grain Route project due to the disruption of the “grain initiative” by Russia, UDP CEO Dmitry Moskalenko said on his Facebook page.
“Back in the summer, we assumed that Russia could at any moment try to disrupt the Grain Initiative. Therefore, we persistently and systematically developed our Danube Grain Route project,” Moskalenko explained.
According to him, UDP has invested in the creation of its own transshipment of grain and agreed with the Romanian partners – the TTS group of companies – on a faster and more efficient transshipment scheme in the port of Constanta.
Among the advantages of the new grain project at the first stage, Moskalenko noted that due to the faster loading and unloading process, the average caravan turnaround time will be reduced by about 30%. As a result, cargo owners will not have to bear financial losses due to long queues near the terminal.
In addition, the Director General of the UDP predicts that in the future the barge caravan will be able to carry out up to two trips per month due to the equipping of ships with online control systems, video surveillance and an increase in the number of navigators in the crew.
Moskalenko also said that at the second stage of the project, it is planned to build new barges, to increase the “tonnage” capabilities and modernize traction – a major overhaul of the self-propelled fleet with the replacement of engines.
As reported with reference to the data of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, in just three months of the implementation of the Grain Initiative, 422 ships from Ukrainian seaports exported about 10 million tons of agricultural products. This volume could be 30-40% more if Russia did not block inspections in the Bosphorus.
On the afternoon of October 31, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that without the participation of the Russian Federation, the export of Ukrainian grain would hardly be feasible. At the same time, he noted that from now on the grain deal acquires a “risky and non-guaranteed character.”
Ships flying the Turkish flag will be able to continue exporting grain from Ukrainian ports without any problems, despite the suspension of Russia’s participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
“There are no problems with the exit of ships under the flag of Turkey. They will continue to leave Ukrainian ports,” the Turkish media quoted the minister as saying.
Akar also expressed hope that the parties will be able to agree on the implementation of the agreement on grain in full.
The topic of the grain deal, as reported, was discussed by phone on Monday and Tuesday by the foreign ministers and defense ministers of Russia and Turkey.
The vessel Ikaria Angel with 40,000 tons of grain for Ethiopia as part of the UN World Food Program (WFP) was unable to leave the Ukrainian port on Sunday, as planned, due to Russia’s actions, Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
“These products were intended for the people of Ethiopia, who are on the verge of starvation. But due to the blocking of the “grain corridor” by Russia, export is impossible,” he tweeted on Sunday.
As reported, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Moscow’s withdrawal from agreements on the export of grain from the ports of Ukraine, citing the alleged attack by Ukraine “against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships involved in ensuring the security of the” grain corridor “.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that this was just a pretext, and Russia deliberately began to aggravate the food crisis back in September, when, due to the actions of its representatives, 176 ships had already accumulated in the Joint Coordination Center near the Bosphorus, which could not pass through your route.
On July 22, representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN signed an agreement in Istanbul on the creation of a sea corridor for the export of Ukrainian grain from the ports of Chornomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny for a period of 120 days.
As of October 29, 403 ships left Ukrainian ports with 9.1 million tons of agricultural products for Asia, Europe and Africa.
Representatives of the oil and fat industry of Ukraine are asking the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine to increase the duty on the export of sunflower seeds to 10% from 3.5%, this will allow them to be processed domestically into higher-margin sunflower oil, especially in the face of a reduction in the oilseed crop in 2022 from – for the aggression of the Russian Federation.
The proposal to create a working group between the ministry and the specialized association “Ukroliyaprom” to resolve the relevant issue was made by its representative Stanislav Tarshin, the beneficiary of the GradOlia company.
“We understand that the gross harvest of sunflower this year will be 30% less than last year, not 16 million tons, but 9-10 million tons. You can assume that since the beginning of the war, 1.7 million tons have already been exported, and no less will be taken out in the future. We will again be left without jobs, without receiving foreign currency and other things,” he stressed during a panel discussion with Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko at the business forum “Dialogue between civil society, business and government: wartime challenges” in Kyiv on Friday.
He emphasized that the oil and fat industry of the country may face a shortage of raw materials for the production of sunflower oil due to a smaller sunflower crop in Ukraine in 2022 due to Russian invasion and temporary occupation of part of its territory. This can lead to underloading of enterprises in the industry, a reduction in foreign exchange from oil sales abroad, as well as the closure of enterprises and an increase in unemployment in the country.
To prevent such a development of events, Tarshin proposed to establish a duty on the export of sunflower seeds from the country at a rate of 10% instead of the current 3.5%.
In addition, the representative of Ukroliyaprom called on the Minister of Economy to stimulate deep processing of sunflower oil in Ukraine, including its purification and packaging before selling it abroad.
“We should have reduced the export of crude sunflower oil (in favor of processed – IF-U). Many people think that if we export not sunflower, but crude oil, then this is the final product. This is a big mistake – such oil is a raw material that is subsequently processed many countries of the world. We export 6-6.5 million tons annually, while we only eat 0.5 million tons in the country,” Tarshin specified.
According to him, in order to increase the deep processing of sunflower oil by 50% of the current level, it will be necessary to build about 20 enterprises of this profile in Ukraine, which will additionally create tens of thousands of jobs in the country.
Ukraine in January-September this year reduced the export of titanium-containing ores and concentrate in kind by 40.8% compared to the same period last year – up to 244.076 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (STS), in monetary terms, the export of titanium-bearing ores and concentrate decreased by 10.4% to $98.542 million.
At the same time, the main exports were to the Czech Republic (48.94% of supplies in monetary terms), the USA (12.53%) and Romania (6.59%).
Ukraine in January-September 2022 imported 196 tons of similar products from Senegal (70.41%) and Turkey (29.59%) in the amount of $115 thousand, while in January-September 2021 it imported 832 tons of titanium-bearing ores in the amount of $798 thousand from Senegal (80.05%) and Germany (19.95%).
As reported, Ukraine in 2021 increased the export of titanium-bearing ores and concentrate in physical terms by 3% compared to 2020 – up to 553.051 thousand tons, in monetary terms, the export of titanium-bearing ores and concentrate increased by 17% – up to $161.914 million. the main exports were to Mexico (21.23% of deliveries in monetary terms), China (18.17%) and the Czech Republic (14.07%).
In 2021, Ukraine imported 1.172 thousand tons of titanium-containing ores worth $1.227 million from Senegal (87.03%) and Germany (12.97%), while in 2020 it imported 1.010 thousand tons worth $855 thousand.
In Ukraine, at present, titanium-bearing ores are mined mainly in the PJSC “United Mining and Chemical Company” (OGCC), under whose management the Volnogorsk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (VGMK, Dnepropetrovsk region) and the Irshansky mining and processing plant (IGOK, Zhytomyr region) were transferred .), as well as LLC “Mezhdurechensky GOK” and LLC “Valki-Ilmenit” (both LLC – Irshansk, Zhytomyr region).
In addition, the production and commercial company “Velta” (Dnepr) built a mining and concentration complex at the Birzulovsky deposit with a capacity of 240,000 tons of ilmenite concentrate per year.
Holding company Velta Group Global Ltd. registered in London in November 2011.
Ukraine in January-September this year reduced the export of ferroalloys in kind by 44.8% compared to the same period last year – up to 283.571 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (STS), in monetary terms, exports of ferroalloys decreased by 33.5% to $489.072 million.
At the same time, the main exports were to Poland (55.71% of supplies in monetary terms), the Netherlands (14.21%) and Romania (6.14%).
In addition, during this period, Ukraine imported 17,005 thousand tons of these products, which is 60.1% less compared to January-September 2021. In monetary terms, imports decreased by 47.8% to $63.883 million.
Import was carried out mainly from Norway (25.8%), China (16.41%) and Kazakhstan (15.85%).
As reported, Ukraine in 2021 increased the export of ferroalloys in physical terms by 6.9% compared to 2020 – up to 668.539 thousand tons, in monetary terms, the export of ferroalloys increased by 58.2% – up to $1 billion 43.880 million. the main exports were to Turkey (19.87% of supplies in monetary terms), Italy (13.51%) and China (11.28%).
In addition, in 2021, Ukraine imported 59.569 thousand tons of these products, which is 75.6% more by 2020. In monetary terms, imports increased by 84.5% – up to $177.616 million. Imports were carried out mainly from Brazil (16.93%), Norway (15.72%) and Kazakhstan (15.1%).
The business of the Stakhanov and Zaporozhye Ferroalloy Plants (SZF and ZZF) was organized by PrivatBank (Kyiv) before the financial institution was nationalized. The Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is controlled by the EastOne group, created in autumn 2007 as a result of the restructuring of the Interpipe group, as well as the Privat group.
