The closure of the Mykolaiv seaport has brought the shipbuilding industry to a standstill and halted shipping on the E-40 river routes (Dnipro and Southern Bug), so the development of alternative export routes is an urgent need for food security in the world, said Mykhailo Rizak, Director of Government Relations at Nibulon JV LLC.
“Mykolaiv’s port facilities are ready to resume operations as soon as a political decision is made to open them, which will increase transshipment competition and reduce the cost of export logistics. More than 100 vessels are still blocked in the Mykolaiv port hub, including 30 foreign sea vessels and 70 vessels for inland waterways,” the agroholding’s press service quoted him as saying at a meeting with French Ambassador to Ukraine Gael Veyer.
Rizak noted that the evacuated vessels, which were previously used for transportation, are now idle and looking for new water routes around the world, including the Danube River.
“The development of alternative export routes is no longer a matter of choice, but an urgent need for food security in the world. Today, the Danube ports are strategic for Ukraine’s economic security, and we must do everything possible to maintain their competitiveness,” Rizak said.
Nibulon representatives paid special attention to the tariff policy of Ukrzaliznytsia during the negotiations. They emphasized that with the opening of Odesa’s deep-water ports, the cost of transportation through the Danube ports has become at least $5 per ton more expensive, and with the announced tariff indexation, the difference could be up to $7.
The indexation of Ukrzaliznytsia’s tariffs will either be a lifeline for water transportation on the Danube River or an unbearable dead anchor, the agricultural holding company is confident.
Rizak pointed to the possibility of indexing rail transportation without applying it to routes to/from railway stations near Danube ports.
“This will make it possible to equalize the Danube’s competition with deep-water seaports and stimulate further development of the Danube infrastructure, which has been supported by the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine project and other international donor programs. Thus, Ukraine will ensure sustainable exports without losing money in the event of an aggravation of the security situation in the Black Sea, and international partners will see the real implementation of the European Commission’s decision to build solidarity routes,” Nibulon emphasized.
The French Ambassador highly appreciated the work of Nibulon and expressed his readiness to assist in resolving important issues at the international level.
Nibulon 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 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.
The grain trader is currently operating at 32% of capacity, has set up a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines and had to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
In 2024, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased revenues from ferrous metal exports by 16.9% year-on-year to $3 billion 96.343 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), ferrous metals accounted for 7.42% of total export revenues in this period, compared to 7.32% in 2023.
In December, revenues from exports of ferrous metals amounted to $223.772 million, while in the previous month – $207.343 million.
At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 13.1% to $1 billion 478.814 million last year. In December, the country imported products worth $108.227 million.
In addition, in 2024, Ukraine increased exports of metal products by 7.6% to $944.683 million. In December, they were exported for $73.676 million.
Imports of metal products increased by 14.9% to $1 billion 37.051 million during this period. In December, these products were imported for $76.205 million.
As reported earlier, in 2023, Ukraine’s steelmaking companies reduced revenues from exports of ferrous metals by 41.6% compared to 2022, to $2 billion 647.72 million, with ferrous metals accounting for 7.3% of total revenues from exports of goods in this period, compared to 10.3% in 2022. At the same time, in 2023, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 37% to $1 billion 307.05 million.
In addition, in 2023, Ukraine decreased exports of metal products by 16.6% year-on-year to $877.92 million, while imports of metal products increased by 40.3% to $902.57 million.
Ukrainian enterprises increased exports of ferrous scrap by 54.5% in January-October this year compared to the same period last year, up to 226,970 thousand tons from 146,927 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, 24.549 thousand tons of scrap were exported in October, 24.767 thousand tons in September, 28.425 thousand tons in August, and 24.425 thousand tons in July. tons, in July – 24,702 thousand tons, in June – 22,161 thousand tons, in May – 14,952 thousand tons, in April – 26,153 thousand tons, in March – 20,907 thousand tons, in February – 23,194 thousand tons, in January – 17,160 thousand tons.
In monetary terms, scrap exports increased by 70.7% to $71.862 million from $42.088 million.
In January-October, Ukraine exported scrap mainly to Poland (84.70%), Greece (11.53%) and Germany (3.40%).
For the first ten months of the year, the country imported 90 tons of scrap for $104 thousand, while in January-October 2023, 793 tons of scrap were imported for $301 thousand. Imports this year were carried out mainly from Turkey (68.27% in monetary terms), the British Virgin Islands (13.46%) and Panama (6.73%).
As reported, in 2023, Ukraine’s scrap collecting enterprise increased scrap exports from the country by 3.4 times compared to the previous year – up to 182,485 thousand tons from 53,557 thousand tons. In monetary terms, exports increased 2.74 times to $52.723 million from $19.271 million.
Earlier, Ukrmetallurgprom President Oleksandr Kalenkov stated in a column on the Interfax-Ukraine website that scrap is exported through the European Union, which has a preferential export duty of EUR3 per ton, and from there the raw materials are redirected to real customers. He noted that exporting raw materials directly to customers would cost EUR180 in export duties, and the Ukrainian budget has already lost UAH 350 million.
The head of Ukrmetallurgprom called for a temporary ban on the export of ferrous scrap to provide steelmakers with strategically important raw materials during the war. He also clarified that a ton of scrap metal processed into steel brings in 10 times more to the budget than the EU export duty, which is about $300 per ton.
In 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of ferrous scrap by 11.5 times compared to the previous year, to 53,557 thousand tons, and in monetary terms, it decreased by 12.4 times, to $19.271 million.
Ukrainian exports in January-September 2024 increased by 13.3% compared to the same period in 2023 to $30.7 billion, while imports increased by 9.9% to $51.2 billion, the State Customs Service reported.
“At the same time, taxable imports amounted to $42.5 billion, which is 83% of the total volume of imported goods. The tax burden per 1 kg of imports in January-September 2024 amounted to $0.5/kg, which is 8% more than in the same period in 2023,” the statistics are available on the website of the State Customs Service.
According to the published data, most of the goods were exported to Poland – for $3.6 billion, Spain – for $2.1 billion, and Germany – for $2.1 billion.
Goods were most often imported to Ukraine from China – for $10.3 billion, Poland – for $5 billion, and Germany – for $3.9 billion.
In January-September 2024, 65% of the total volume of goods imported were machinery, equipment and transport – worth $17.7 billion (UAH 125.7 billion, or 30% of customs revenues, was paid to the budget), chemical products – $8.8 billion (UAH 65.2 billion, or 15% of revenues), and fuel and energy products – $6.8 billion (UAH 111.7 billion, or 26% of customs revenues).
The top three most frequently exported goods from Ukraine are food products worth $17.9 billion, metals and metal products worth $3.4 billion, and machinery, equipment, and transport worth $2.5 billion.
As summarized by the State Customs Service, in the first nine months of 2024, UAH 217.9 million was paid to the budget during customs clearance of exports of goods subject to export duties.
In January-August this year, Ukrainian companies increased imports of copper and copper products by 20.1% in value terms compared to the same period last year, to $92.824 million.
According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine on Friday, exports of copper and copper products increased by 16% to $58.224 million over the period under review.
In August, copper was imported for $8.304 million and exported for $8.878 million.
In addition, in January-August 2024, Ukraine increased imports of nickel and products by 68.5% compared to the same period in 2023 to $18.6 million (in August – $1.620 million), aluminum and aluminum products by 20% to $292.701 million (in August – $42.649 million).
At the same time, the country reduced imports of lead and lead products by 14.8% to $615 thousand (in August – $5 thousand), imports of tin and tin products increased by 7.8% to $1.842 million (in August – $307 thousand), and increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 32.9% to $38.242 million (in August – $4.882 million).
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in the first eight months of 2024 increased by 31.1% compared to the same period a year earlier to $82.966 million (in August – $11.901 million), lead and lead products decreased by 25.9% to $7.315 million (in August – $823 thousand), nickel and nickel products amounted to $508 thousand (in August – $85 thousand), while in January-August 2023 it was $201 thousand.
Zinc exports for the first eight months of this year amounted to $201 thousand (in August – $79 thousand), while in January-August 2023 it was $88 thousand. Exports of tin and products amounted to $344 thousand (in August – $2 thousand) against $53 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, imports of lead and lead products decreased by 65.2% to $989 thousand, tin and tin products by 23% to $2.728 million, but imports of zinc and zinc products increased by 18.8% to $45.966 million.
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in 2023 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.
Exports of goods from Ukraine in June 2024 decreased by 7% compared to a year earlier and amounted to $2.77 billion, the lowest figure since the beginning of this year, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) reported on Tuesday.
According to the IER’s monitoring of foreign trade, exports of agricultural products decreased by 2% to $1.60 billion, but exports of its components developed differently: corn exports increased by 12% (21% in physical terms), while exports of wheat and oil decreased by 32% and 5%, respectively.
In June, exports of metallurgy products fell by over 9% y-o-y to $355 m. The IER believes that this likely reflected higher energy costs and a change in the structure of exports: exports of pig iron and certain types of rolled products decreased, while exports of semi-finished and other products increased.
In addition, exports of mineral products, primarily iron ore, increased by 33%, but were lower than in January-April 2024.
The IER emphasized that due to the resumption of exports from Odesa ports, the volume of iron ore exports in tons increased by 87% in June, although it was lower than in previous months due to a shortage of electricity.
Exports of mineral products grew by only 33%.
As for imports, they remained almost unchanged in June compared to May, but increased by 12% to $5.63 billion by the same period in 2023.
In terms of sectors, imports of machinery and equipment increased by almost 20% year-on-year in June 2024 (especially imports of drones, batteries, and generators), while imports of cars decreased slightly in dollar terms due to lower import prices.
Imports of energy products increased by 16% yoy due to higher imports of coke and coal, likely to meet the needs of the metallurgy sector, which increased steel production.
At the same time, imports of chemicals and food products decreased.
It is noted that the greatest impact was the growth of imports of “other goods” (primarily purchased for the needs of the Armed Forces) – under this category, goods worth $752 million were imported to Ukraine ($400 million in the previous months of the year).
As explained by the IER, the shortage of electricity led to an increase in its imports – from $6 million in June 2023 to $78 million in June 2024, as well as batteries – from $18 million a year earlier to $68 million in June 2024.
