The European Union has extended by another year the cancellation of import duties on Ukrainian exports. This decision will become effective from 6 June 2023 and will be effective until 5 June 2024, inclusive.
The regulation of the European Parliament and the European Council of May 31 on extending for another year the abolition of import duties on Ukrainian exports was published in the EU official Journal on Monday.
The moratorium on duties imposed in 2022 will expire on June 5, 2023.
In order to prevent fraud in the preferential mechanisms established by the regulation, Ukraine must comply with a number of rules, including refraining from introducing new duties or charges and new quantitative restrictions or measures with equivalent effect, from increasing existing duties and charges, and from imposing any other restrictions in trade with the EU, unless clearly justified, the document says.
According to the regulation, if Ukraine fails to comply with any of these conditions, the EU may suspend the preferential mechanisms.
The volume of electricity imports from Slovakia rose 27.3 percent on Sunday compared to Saturday to 4,427 MWh per day, according to data on the website of Continental Europe Transmission System Operators Network ENTSO-E.
According to the site, imports came in 16 hours a day from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at capacities of 10-350 MW. The maximum allowed cross-sectional capacity for imports in the Slovak direction is 350 MW, and on Sunday it was at that capacity for three hours. A total of 10 hours recorded capacity in excess of 300 MW.
At the same time, imports for Monday dropped almost 10 times to 476 MWh per day.
At the same time, according to ENTSO-E data, power exports to Poland, after Monday’s weekend absence, were carried out for nine night and day hours at a capacity of 200 MW – a total of 1,800 MWh per day.
For Moldova, no data on both imports and exports have been available since early June.
As previously reported, electricity supplies from Slovakia were planned at 7.1 thousand MWh per day on June 3 and 7.5 thousand MWh per day on June 4. For comparison, during the first two days of June just under 1.5 thou. MWh was received. A record number of traders participated in the auctions to allocate cross-section capacity on those days – 16 and 17 traders, respectively. Nevertheless, on Saturday, traders absorbed only half of the redeemed cross-section, supplying 3,477 MWh of electric power per day.
Vitaliy Butenko, head of the Energy Company of Ukraine (EKU), commented on the traders’ activity over the weekend: “At the weekend, prices in Slovakia are significantly lower than electricity prices in Ukraine. This trend has been observed for several weeks in a row, which makes it possible to provide additional amounts of electricity to support the Ukrainian energy system.
Ukraine in May exported about 41,000 MWh, while importing half as much – about 20,000 MWh, according to published data on the website of the continental European network of system operators ENTSO-E.
Electric power was exported to Moldova, amounting to 23.3 thousand MWh and to Poland – 17.6 thousand MWh.
In the last week of May, after the announced shutdown of some units, there were no exports except for a few hours during certain days, and the transmission system operator, NEC Ukrenergo, did not auction any capacity for exports at the end of May, except for a few hours on certain days.
Imports came from Slovakia – about 18,000 MWh and from Moldova – about 2,000 MWh (the last few days of May data for Moldova are not displayed on the ENTSO-E website – ER). At the same time, it has increased considerably since May 20, almost six times compared to the first half of the month.
At the same time, exports decreased three times compared with the first two weeks of May.
At the same time in May, due to the growing demand for exports and restrictions on their implementation, traders for the first time began to pay for exports to Moldova and Poland (along the line KAES-Zheshuv) – UAH 1.8 million and UAH 0.5 million respectively. Also 1.3 million UAH were paid for the section for imports from Slovakia on certain days.
As reported, exports of electricity, which was resumed in April after it was stopped in October, amounted to 89.7 thousand MWh for the month. Most of the electricity was exported to Moldova – over 40 thou MWh, another 30.4 thou MWh went to Poland and 19.2 thou MWh to Slovakia.
However, exports to Slovakia lasted only four days, having been suspended since April 21 at the initiative of the Slovak transmission system operator.
The section to Slovakia for 4 days brought to Ukrenergo about 17 mln hryvnia. The NERC, Ukrenergo and the Ministry of Energy are resolving the issue of resuming exports to Slovakia.
Electricity imports in April amounted to about 4 thou MWh – 3.8 thou MWh from Slovakia (a third less than in March) and 0.1 MWh from Moldova (in March there were 1,541 MWh).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that there is “politics” in the decisions of a number of countries that have banned imports of Ukrainian grain.
“I am grateful to my neighbors who support us, but to be honest, there is politics there. We have the Black Sea blocked and we need help with weapons. We can’t risk relations with some countries,” he said Saturday in an interview with Italian media.
“And I understand that some political currents are taking advantage of this situation and instigating farmers to block grain shipments. But they have no right to block transit,” he said.
“We will solve these issues,” Zelensky stressed.
Ukraine in January-April this year reduced imports of aluminum ores and concentrate (bauxite) in physical terms by 99.98% compared to the same period last year – to 210 tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), during this period, imports of bauxite in monetary terms decreased by 99.64% – to $170 thousand.
Imports were mainly from China (100% of supplies in monetary terms).
During this period of this year, as well as in January-April 2022, Ukraine did not re-export bauxite.
As reported, Ukraine in 2022 decreased the import of aluminum ore and concentrate (bauxite) in volume terms by 81.5% compared to the previous year – up to 945.396 tons. Bauxite imports in monetary terms decreased by 79.6% to $48.166 million. Imports were mainly from Guinea (58.90% of supplies in monetary terms), Brazil (27.19%) and Ghana (7.48%).
Bauxite is an aluminum ore used as a raw material for the production of alumina, and from it, aluminum. They are also used as fluxes in steel industry.
Bauxite is imported into Ukraine by the Nikolaev Alumina Refinery (NGR), which before the war was affiliated with the United Company (UC) Russian Aluminum (RusAl, RF). Bauxite is used to produce alumina.
“RusAl in Ukraine also previously owned a stake in the Zaporozhye Aluminum Plant (ZALK), which stopped producing primary aluminum and alumina.
Ukraine in January-April this year decreased the export of coke and semi-coke in physical terms by 73.6% compared to the same period last year to 668 tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), Ukraine did not export coke in January-March this year, as it did in December last year. All exports for the four months of 2023 came in April. In monetary terms, it fell by 77.6%, to $170 thousand.
Ukraine imported 32,168 thousand tons of coke and semi-coke in January-April 2023, down 86.2% from the same period in 2022. In monetary terms, imports fell by 86.2% to $16.095 million.
Exports were to Moldova (100% of supplies in monetary terms) and imports were mainly from Poland (91.29%), Hungary (5.14%) and Colombia (3.56%).
As earlier reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced the export of coke and semi-coke in volume terms by 98% compared with the previous year – up to 3.856 tons, in monetary terms by 97.6% – to $1.011 million. The main export was carried out in Hungary (42.63% of supplies in monetary terms), Georgia (37.69%) and Turkey (17.41%).
Ukraine imported 359.192 thousand tons of coke and semi-coke in 2022, down 54.5% compared to 2021. In monetary terms, imports decreased by 50.3% to $174.499 million. Imports were mainly from Russia (43.43% of supplies in monetary terms, before the war), Poland (30.07%) and the Czech Republic (13.15%).
Due to the war, a number of mines and coke plants are located in territories temporarily outside Ukrainian control.
