The volume of exports of furniture and its parts in January-July 2021 increased by 70.5% compared to 2020 and amounted to $511.9 million, the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers has reported, citing data from the State Customs Service.
At the same time, furniture was exported to the countries of the European Union for $451.4 million, Asia – $9.8 million, the United States – $4.8 million.
The increase in furniture exports in January-June 2021 amounted to 82.2%, the association says.
Lyst-Ruchky LLC (Ruchky village, Poltava region), part of Astarta agro-industrial holding, exported the first batch of organic soybeans under a contract with the German processing company Agriprotein GmbH, the agricultural holding’s press service reported.
“A supply contract of organic soybeans was concluded with the German processing company Agriprotein GmbH. As per contract, the quality of delivered products has to be confirmed in two stages. The first samples of soybeans were selected and tested by the European laboratory Galab (Germany) prior to signing a contract. The organic origin of the product and its high quality was confirmed. The second stage of the inspection took place upon delivery and organic status of soybeans was reaffirmed,” the company said on its website.
“As reported, last year Astarta completed a three-year journey to the first harvest of organic grain and oilseeds crops in sync with the European trend of expanding organic farming methods. In the 2021 season, the total area of the company’s land bank under organic products is 1,800 ha with the following crops: soybeans, millet, mustard, sunflower, corn and winter wheat,” the report says.
“The company also plans to certify this crops according to Bio Suisse (Switzerland) and USDA NOP (USA) standards,” it said.
As reported, Lyst-Ruchky in July 2020 received a certificate of a manufacturer of organic products. To confirm this status, it took three years of work in a transitional period, the corresponding intermediate inspections and certifications.
Ukraine in January-May this year increased exports of cast iron in quantity terms by 4.1% compared to the same period last year, to 1.252 million tonnes.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service on Wednesday, during the specified period, exports of cast iron in monetary terms increased by 70.8%, to $600.902 million.
At the same time, exports were carried out mainly in the United States (59.45% of supplies in monetary terms), Turkey (13.82%) and Italy (11.83%).
In January-April 2021, Ukraine imported 73 tonnes of cast iron worth $92,000 from Germany (86.96%) and Slovakia (13.04%), while over the five months of 2020 it imported 314 tonnes of similar products worth $209,000.
Ukraine in January-February of this year reduced exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrate in quantity terms by 39.5% compared to the same period last year, to 74,694 tonnes.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service on Tuesday, in monetary terms, exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrate decreased by 19.3%, to $22.109 million.
At the same time, main exports were carried out to China (35.97% of supplies in monetary terms), Turkey (23.48%) and the Czech Republic (12.07%).
During this period, Ukraine imported 100 tonnes of titanium-containing ores from Senegal in the amount of $89,000, while in January-February 2020 it imported from this country 146 tonnes of titanium-containing ores worth $102,000.
Ukraine considers Qatar as a promising market for increasing exports of grain, poultry products, vegetable oil, as well as for expanding the range of agricultural products supplied, Head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Ihor Petrashko said, following negotiations with Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Ukraine Hadi Al-Hajri.
“We understand the importance of ensuring food security in the world, therefore, we are interested in stepping up cooperation in this direction. In particular, Ukraine is making every effort to guarantee an uninterrupted supply of food to foreign markets,” Petrashko said.
The Economy Ministry said the Ukrainian agricultural sector is promising for attracting internal and foreign investments, and the mutually beneficial development of investments between Ukraine and Qatar can provide an additional impetus to trade and economic cooperation in this direction.
According to the ministry, in 2020 the trade turnover between Ukraine and Qatar increased by 69.2%, year-over-year, to $139.16 million, while the export of Ukrainian goods increased by 75.7%, to $131.61 million.