“DTEK Energo plans to import about 210,000 tons of coal from Poland for more reliable passage of the autumn-winter period by thermal generation, the energy holding company said in a press release on Wednesday.
Under the fuel import contract, an agreement has been reached on the supply of thermal coal throughout the heating season, starting from September 2023 and until March 2024.
As the company noted, the first coal shipments are expected as early as this week.
“In the conditions of war, unpredictable actions of the enemy and the increased load that the company’s thermal power plants have been carrying in recent months, additional volumes of imported fuel will allow to “back up” and provide an additional margin of safety for a more stable passage of the nearest heating season by thermal generation,” said Ildar Saleev, CEO of DTEK Energo, quoted in the press release.
As reported, DTEK Energy’s thermal power plants have increased their electricity output by 28% over the last four months compared to the same period last year. In turn, in August, when consumption was at record highs for the summer due to the heat wave, power engineers generated 35% more electricity than in August 2022.
In just eight months of this year, DTEK Energy’s thermal power plants supplied almost 9.9 bln kWh of electricity, which is equivalent to the average consumption of about 3.3 mln households during the year.
In January-August of this year, Ukrainian enterprises reduced imports of lead and lead products by 67.9% to $722 thousand ($9 thousand), imports of tin and tin products by 33.8% to $1.633 million ($208 thousand), but increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 10.1% to $28.775 million ($3.934 million).
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in January-August this year decreased by 4.8% compared to the same period last year to $63.289 million ($8.201 million in August), lead and lead products increased by 13.6% to $9.866 million ($0.876 million), nickel and nickel products amounted to $201 thousand ($76 thousand), while in 8 months. 2022 it was $1.339 million.
Imports of tin and tin products fell by 33.5% to $3.312 million, while imports of zinc and zinc products decreased by 58.7% to $38.690 million.
In January-August this year, Ukrainian companies reduced imports of nickel and products by 75.3% compared to the same period in 2022 to $11.038 million ($2.599 million in August), while aluminum and aluminum products increased by 17.8% to $243.990 million ($38.614 million).
In January-August this year, Ukrainian companies increased imports of copper and copper products by 85.1% year-on-year to $77.287 million.
According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, exports of copper and copper products decreased by 21.7% to $50.197 million over the period.
In August, copper was imported for $9.975 million and exported for $6.273 million.
In addition, in the first eight months of 2023, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and products by 75.3% compared to the same period in 2022 to $11.038 million ($2.599 million in August), while imports of aluminum and aluminum products increased by 17.8% to $243.990 million ($38.614 million).
At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 67.9% to $722 thousand ($9 thousand), imports of tin and tin products by 33.8% to $1.633 million ($208 thousand), but increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 10.1% to $28.775 million ($3.934 million).
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in January-August this year decreased by 4.8% compared to the same period last year to $63.289 million ($8.201 million in August), lead and lead products increased by 13.6% to $9.866 million ($0.876 million), nickel and nickel products amounted to $201 thousand ($76 thousand), while in 8 months. 2022 it was $1.339 million.
Zinc was exported abroad for eight months by $88 thousand (in August – $2 thousand) against $1.302 million in January-August 2022. Exports of tin and products amounted to $53 thousand (in August – $1 thousand) against $396 thousand in 8 months of 2022.
As reported, in 2022, Ukrainian enterprises reduced imports of copper and copper products in value terms by 64.3% compared to the previous year – to $65.370 million, while their exports decreased by 56.3% to $90.245 million.
In addition, in 2022, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and nickel products by 49.9% compared to 2021, to $59.754 million, and aluminum and aluminum products by 33.4%, to $340.398 million. At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 66.6%, to $2.839 million.
Imports of tin and tin products fell by 33.5% to $3.312 million, and imports of zinc and zinc products decreased by 58.7% to $38.690 million.
In 2022, exports of aluminum and aluminum products decreased by 42.7% compared to 2021, to $96.972 million, lead and lead products – by 68.7%, to $11.970 million, and nickel and nickel products – by 73.9%, to $1.268 million.
Zinc exports in 2022 amounted to $1.331 million, while in 2021 they amounted to $550 thousand. Exports of tin and products in 2022 amounted to $424 thousand, compared to $346 thousand in the previous year.
The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine has announced a change in the rules for importing and accounting for humanitarian aid starting December 1.
“On September 5, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution “Some issues of humanitarian aid entry and accounting under martial law”. According to the resolution, the rules for importing and accounting for humanitarian aid are being changed, and information about it will be digitized in an automated system,” the ministry’s press service said.
It is noted that among the main changes is the introduction of an accessible electronic tool for accounting for humanitarian aid.
In particular, using the web platform “Automated System for Registration of Humanitarian Aid,” organizations intending to import humanitarian aid will be able to register, log in to the site, form and submit a declaration, which will be sent to customs through information exchange.
“The system will automatically assign a unique code to the declaration. This code will be used by customs officers to let the cargo through,” the agency emphasized.
This preserves the declarative principle of importing humanitarian aid under martial law, and simplifies the process of importing such goods.
It also stipulates that organizations importing humanitarian aid will submit public reports after its distribution.
“After the organization has imported the aid, it will have to describe it in the system before distributing it. Then, the data will have to be entered: when and where (without specifying personal data of individuals) the cargo was distributed, whether there are any leftovers and what they are. Such a mechanism will show the path of humanitarian aid from the donor through the recipient to the recipients and guarantee the transparency of the process,” the ministry added.
In addition, the adopted resolution cancels letters of guarantee, which means that humanitarian aid for the military will be imported without additional bureaucratic burden.
According to the report, the system will be launched on December 1, 2023.
Poland will not allow grain imports from Ukraine after September 15, as the interest of Polish farmers is more important to the country’s government than any EU rules on this issue, said Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Robert Telusz.
“We know what could have happened if grain (from Ukraine) had arrived in Poland after September 15. Especially since the price of grain is currently low, and the granaries are already full. We know that this is in our interest and we will defend it. That is why I am going to Spain with this message to the summit of agriculture ministers,” the Polish publication farmer.pl quoted him as saying during the National Agricultural Exhibition in Czestochowa last Sunday.
Telusz informed the public that on Monday he will visit Spain, where he will convince the European Union to extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine to the EU until the end of 2023 after September 15, together with representatives of other frontline countries – Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Romania.
“When the war in Ukraine broke out, Polish society, including farmers, became the saviors of the Ukrainian cause. (…) Polish society became a lifesaver. Today in Brussels, we are loudly declaring: a dead rescuer is a bad rescuer. We will not allow the Polish farmer to lose because of arbitrary decisions of officials from Brussels,” said Deputy Minister of Agriculture Krzysztof Ciezora.
According to Janusz Kowalski, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Polish government has supported Polish farmers to the tune of EUR 3.181 billion, while the amount of financial support from the European Commission is only EUR 63.614 million.
