In January-October this year, Ukrainian companies increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 31.9% to $49.493 million (in October – $5.939 million).
Zinc exports for the first ten months of this year amounted to $419 thousand (in October – $142 thousand), while in January-October 2023 it amounted to $99 thousand.
At the same time, imports of zinc and zinc products increased by 18.8% to $45.966 million.
In 2023, zinc was exported by $130 thousand against $1.331 million in 2022.
Pure zinc metal is used to restore precious metals, protect steel from corrosion and for other purposes.
In January-October 2024, Ukraine increased exports by 16.1% to $34.6 billion, while imports increased by 9.9% to $57.4 billion, the State Customs Service reports.
“At the same time, taxable imports amounted to $47.4 billion, which is 83% of the total volume of imported goods. The tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports in January-October 2024 amounted to $0.51/kg, which is 5% more than in the same period in 2023,” the State Customs Service website said on Friday.
Among the countries from which Ukraine imported the most goods: China ($11.6 billion), Poland ($5.6 billion), and Germany ($4.4 billion).
Ukraine exported the most to Poland – by $4 billion, Germany – by $2.4 billion, and Spain – by $2.4 billion.
It is noted that in total, 65% of imported goods in January-October 2024 were machinery, in particular, equipment and transport – $20.3 billion (during customs clearance, UAH 141 billion was paid to the budget, or 30% of customs revenues), chemical products – $9.3 billion (UAH 72.3 billion was paid to the budget, or 15% of revenues), fuel and energy – $8.7 billion (UAH 127.1 billion was paid, or 27% of customs revenues).
The top three most exported goods from Ukraine are food products – $20.3 billion, metals and metal products – $3.8 billion, and machinery, equipment and transport – $2.9 billion.
It is noted that in January-October 2024, UAH 251.7 million was paid to the budget during customs clearance of exports of goods subject to export duties.
NPC Ukrenergo and Polish system operator PSE are considering increasing electricity imports to Ukraine by an additional 150 MW, which could bring the total to 2.5 GW of electricity imports from Europe, acting CEO of Ukrenergo Oleksiy Brekht said at the 10th Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) on Thursday.
”2,100 MW is the basic value that we have and can maintain. Further, we have the so-called guaranteed emergency assistance, which is another 250 MW. And today we are working with the Polish system operator on another initiative that could provide an additional 150 MW of imports,” he said.
According to Brecht, the total capacity of European imports will thus reach 2.5 GW. “In total, this is 2500 MW, almost 2.5 nuclear power units, which will help us significantly this winter,” the head of the company emphasized.
As he informed, Ukraine, together with its European partners, expects to achieve stable supply of the achieved import volumes also after the autumn-winter period of 2024-25.
“We expect that in the spring we will have a dynamic opportunity to revise the establishment of certain throughput capacities (interstate crossings of power lines) and expect that it will not be lower than the existing value,” Brecht said.
As reported, Ukraine and the EU have agreed to increase the maximum capacity of electricity imports from the EU countries from December 1, 2024, from the current 1.7 to 2.1 GW.
Ukraine will also have an additional 250 MW of guaranteed capacity for emergency flows from the EU.
In turn, starting from March 2025, European transmission system operators will be able to review the capacity limit for commercial electricity exchange between the EU, Ukraine and Moldova on a monthly basis.
The German federal government has confirmed the increase in imports of Ukrainian grain in recent years and at the same time denied the negative impact on its market, the Bavarian trade publication Wochenblatt reported.
“Grain imports have been growing since 2022, when the Russian war against Ukraine began. Imports of feed and food grains from Ukraine to Germany reached its peak in recent years – about 741 thousand tons. In the first six months of 2024, the volumes approached 490 thousand tons,” the publication writes.
The largest share in imports is corn. In January-June 2024, Germany imported about 447 thsd tonnes of corn, while in 2023 it was 619 thsd tonnes. At the same time, in 2023, wheat imports reached almost 106 thousand tons, but from the beginning of 2024 to July 2024, only about 16.5 thousand tons were registered. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, wheat imports ranged from 6,000 to 2,000 tons.
The federal government also emphasized that it has no information about any deviations from the requirements and standards during inspections of Ukrainian grain by the official German Food and Feed Inspectorate. According to the Federal Government, food and feed imported into the EU from third countries, such as Ukraine, must comply with the requirements of the food and feed legislation in force in the EU.
This information is contained in the federal government’s response to questions from the parliamentary group Alternative for Germany.
Ukraine and the EU have agreed to increase the capacity of electricity imports during the winter months to 2.1 GW, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Tuesday.
“Starting December 1, the maximum capacity of imports of e/e from EU countries will be increased from the current 1.7 GW to 2.1 GW. This will increase the resilience of the Ukrainian energy system in the face of criminal Russian shelling and infrastructure destruction. I am grateful to European partners, in particular to European Commissioner Kadri Simson for their consistent position and effective steps to support our energy system on the eve of winter,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko was quoted by the press service as saying.
Ukraine will also additionally have an opportunity for guaranteed 250 MW of overflow capacity from the EU in emergency assistance mode.
As the Energy Ministry recalled, the need to make an important decision for Ukraine on increasing the import capacity was discussed at a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in September in Kiev.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine plans to import 2-3 bcm of gas, according to the published memorandum on economic and financial policy for the 5th review of the EFF program with the IMF.
“For the upcoming heating season 2024/25. Ukraine plans to import additional gas for domestic consumption in the amount of up to 2-3 billion cubic meters, while additional gas may be stored by non-residents for the needs of the EU countries in accordance with the baseline scenario,” the document says.
At the same time, it is noted that restrained domestic consumption and growing domestic production limited the need for gas imports in the last heating season.
Regarding import plans for this year’s heating season, it is noted that Naftogaz has secured additional financing for gas imports from the EBRD and bilateral donors.
If Naftogaz faces a liquidity shortage, the government is ready to assess the amount of compensation for the company’s special obligations in 2025 based on its actual documented costs, verified by the State Audit Service and other stakeholders. The relevant calculations will be finalized by the end of August 2025.
“The potential pressure on costs related to gas imports and PSO compensation will be taken into account by adjusting the fiscal balance targets to take into account the above assessment, the results of the audit of the debt of district heating companies (DHCs), available funding, and limited to UAH 60 billion (about 0.8% of GDP),” the document says.
It also notes that the energy sector reform agenda, “as soon as conditions allow,” includes additional gradual increases in gas and electricity tariffs with parallel support for vulnerable consumers, and after the war ends, it will require restoring and strengthening competition in the wholesale and retail gas markets.
It is noted that the government will adopt a roadmap for the gradual liberalization of gas and electricity markets with an implementation plan indicating the timeline for the period after martial law.
As reported, Naftogaz Group CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said in early October in a commentary to Energoreforma that as of November 1, the company’s purchases of gas in the customs warehouse (CW) mode, which is carried out as a reserve at the expense of the EBRD loan, will be “within 500-600 million cubic meters.”
At the end of 2022, Naftogaz attracted an EBRD loan for EUR 300 million under state guarantees, which created a reserve stock of natural gas in the amount of 748 million cubic meters in the customs warehouse (CU) mode.
A new agreement on the EBRD loan to Naftogaz for EUR 200 million under state guarantees was signed in November 2023. At the time, it was emphasized that it would come into force after the state guarantees were issued. Norway and the Netherlands shared the credit risk with the bank.
The CU regime allows natural gas to be stored in Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities for three years without paying taxes and customs duties during its further transportation from the country.
