The Japanese Self-Defense Force has sent bullet-proof vests and other non-lethal supplies in response to a request from Ukraine, NHK TV channel has reported.
The KC-767 transport aircraft left the Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, on Tuesday night for Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine. The items also include heavy winter clothes and emergency food supplies.
This is the first time the SDF has provided bullet-proof vests to another country.
According to the Ministry of Defense, Japan plans to deliver more equipment and supplies to Ukraine once they are ready, such as food, hygiene products, cameras, power generators, tents and winter clothing.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said it was “critical” for Japan and its national security to support Ukraine.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the government is actively developing mechanisms for stable supplies of food, medicine and essential goods throughout the country.
“Now the government is actively developing mechanisms for stable supplies of food, medicine and essential goods throughout the country,” Shmyhal said in a video message on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the prime minister, at the moment the Coordinating Center for the Provision of Food Products, Medicines, Drinking Water and Fuel is operating under the leadership of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, and the Humanitarian Aid Coordination Center is also operating under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishina.
Imports of food and beverages from Italy in January-August 2021 reached EUR 138.15 million, which is 15.4% more than in the same period last year, representatives of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the VI Italian Cuisine Week held in Kyiv.
“According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), in 2020, imports of Italian food products to Ukraine, including drinks, grew by 26.5%, or to EUR 208 million compared to 2019. Food products now account for 12.3% of total import of Italian goods,” ITA Kyiv Office Manager Tony Corradini said.
According to the data presented by ITA, last year’s indicator is almost 2.3 times higher than the 2013 indicator and 3.8 times higher than in 2015, when a local minimum of food imports was recorded, after which it is growing continuously.
According to Corradini, Italian pasta occupies 55% of the Ukrainian market, wine over 30%. Italy is also the largest exporter of extra-virgin olive oil to Ukraine.
According to statistics, the main growth in imports of food from Italy to Ukraine this year was provided by dairy products (a rise of 39.4%, to EUR 9.95 million), pasta and bakery products (a rise of 11.6%, to EUR 16.64 million), sparkling wine, other special wines, distilled and mixed alcoholic beverages (a rise of 52.9%, to EUR 24.04 million), and wine (a rise of 17.4%, to EUR 15.05 million).
In addition to holding the new Italian cuisine week, the Italian Embassy in Ukraine and ITA, as part of the promotion of authentic Italian products, also signed a cooperation agreement with the second largest Ukrainian supermarket chain Silpo.
“Thanks to this agreement, Ukrainians will be able to buy real, high-quality Italian products, and we, in turn, will raise awareness of Italian culture and fight against such a phenomenon as “Italian ring” [when only the name of the product is Italian],” Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Pier Francesco Zadzo said.
Under the agreement, the Silpo chain, represented by 320 stores in 80 cities, will promote both existing and new Italian brands and goods to Ukrainians, as well as further develop the Positano restaurant, which is part of the Fozzy Group, Head of the Own Import Department Svitlana Schehrykovych said.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine held a number of meetings with representatives of the government and business of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the parties agreed to develop a number of interstate agreements in the field of the agro-industrial complex, and also discussed investments in the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex, Minister of Agrarian Policy Roman Leschenko said on Facebook.According to him, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia agreed to develop a comprehensive framework agreement between the countries in the field of agriculture, to diversify sources of supplies of phosphate fertilizers to Ukraine, to increase support from Saudi Arabia for processing Ukrainian agricultural products and implement investment projects for processing and logistics of agricultural products.The agency also discussed with the Arabian company Ajlan & Bros Holding Group the possibility of investing in the production of agricultural products in Ukraine, with Almarai – growing alfalfa for its supply to v Saudi Arabia, with the Saudi Fund for Development – the issues of financial support for irrigation projects, with ARASCO – increasing the volume of grain purchases in Ukraine, with Saudi EXIM Bank – financing the agricultural sector of Ukraine.“One of the key tasks in the near future is to bring the negotiation process to a successful conclusion. We are continuing the dialogue, strengthening trade and investment cooperation with Ukraine’s strategic partner in the agricultural sector,” the minister summed up.As reported, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the Arabian manufacturer of irrigation equipment Alkhorayef Group on November 27 signed a memorandum allowing the possibility of starting its production in Ukraine . According to the ministry, Alkhorayef Industries is the third largest manufacturer of irrigation machines in the world and the first in the Arabian Peninsula. Its activities are spread in 40 countries of the world, they produce industrial, agricultural and irrigation equipment.
Schwarz Group is entering the Ukrainian market and will develop the Lidl food retail chain, the German edition Lebensmittel Zeitung reported, citing an internal letter from the company.
As follows from the internal letter from Schwarz, 47-year-old Adam Miszczyszyn will deal with Lidl’s entering Ukraine. The document on his appointment as Country Manager for Lidl in Ukraine was signed by Lidl CEO Gerd Chrzanowski and Procurement Director Tim Bork.
Schwarz Group, with 500,000 employees, is one of the world’s leading retail companies.
The company is headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany. The main food retail brands are Lidl and Kaufland. The group also includes food production Schwarz Produktion and waste disposal, sorting and recycling company PreZero.
According to the official website of the company, it operates 12,900 stores in 33 countries, with revenues in 2020 of EUR125.3 billion, which is 9.6% higher than in 2019. Kaufland increased store sales by 7.5%, to EUR 25.5 billion, Lidl increased sales by 9.9%, to EUR96.3 billion, PreZero grew by 33.7% in 2020 and brought in about EUR 700 million from waste treatment.
DEVELOP, FOOD, LIDL, RETAIL CHAIN, SCHWARZ, UKRAINIAN MARKET
According to the pessimistic forecasts, the market for pet food may fall to 20% by the end of 2020, CEO of Kormotech Rostyslav Vovk said. “The experience of previous crises shows that according to the pessimistic scenario, the market for finished food in Ukraine can go down to 20%,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Vovk, in the field of animal care, the crisis becomes considerable in one and a half or two years after its beginning. He said that over the past five years, the food market for cats and dogs has grown by 15% annually. The market volume amounted to 122,000 tonnes in 2019.
“This year it will not grow in full size, but it will not go down significantly either, as feed is a product that is difficult to quickly replace (with another feed or food from the table). At the same time, we are predicting, based on the results of previous crises, that demand for keeping expensive pedigreed dogs and cats will decrease slightly. This means that kennels will become less involved in breeding and this will certainly lead to a decrease in feed consumption,” the CEO of Kormotech said.
According to him, the population will have significantly less money by the autumn, and if product prices begin to rise, pet owners can not only buy less, but also look for a cheaper alternative.
“Customers who generally preferred products of the economy segment are more likely to start buying less, adding water to dry and cereal to a wet diet,” Vovk said.
The CEO of Kormotech said that the demand for the company’s products grew by 30% in the second half of March, and as of the second week of April began to return to normal range.
“We assume that the owners of the animals made feed stocks in the same way as other products. In small retail outlets, usually located near residential buildings, sales grew by 30% (the share of this sales channel for our products was 15%), online stores by 45% (the share of this channel is 5%). Pet stores are key point of sale, showed an increase of 32% (the share of this channel is 55%),” Vovk said.
Kormotech exports products to about 20 countries, including France, Estonia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Poland. The facilities of the company include two plants for the manufacture of dry and wet pet food. The company produces products for cats and dogs under its own brands Optimeal, Club 4 Paws (Meow! and Woof! trademarks) and in private label.
The ultimate beneficiaries of Kormotech are Olena and Rostyslav Vovk.
