Prices for construction materials have risen by 20-25% since the start of 2026, and there is a trend toward further increases; to ensure the effective operation of the “eOselya” state program, price limits must be updated, according to Sergey Pilipenko, CEO of PSG “Kovalskaya.”
In comments to the “Interfax-Ukraine” agency, he noted that the construction market has shown a gradual recovery over the past two years, with annual growth of 12-15%, indicating that businesses are adapting and that supply and demand are gradually balancing out. Currently, as in recent years, there is no shortage of construction materials. Production capacity even occasionally exceeds effective demand, so the market as a whole is balanced.
“In certain segments, situational shortages are possible due to power outages, staff shortages, or a lack of raw materials. But overall, the market fully meets the demand for construction materials. “Despite the harsh winter, our forecast for 2026 remains quite confident and optimistic: we expect growth of about 15% in volume terms across virtually all of Kovalskaya’s business segments. At the same time, prices remain a key factor influencing the market,” said Pilipenko.
According to him, the market is already feeling their significant rise due to global trends, particularly the rise in oil and fuel prices, as well as domestic economic challenges. It all began with a revision of cement prices, but since the start of the year, prices across the entire supply chain have risen by approximately 20–25%, and this is not yet the limit.
“We are currently seeing a rapid rise in prices for construction products and services due to a number of factors: rising costs for logistics, energy, and labor shortages are significantly impacting the direct cost of most products. Fluctuations in the national currency’s exchange rate are exacerbating this trend, as part of the cost structure involves imports. In any case, the impact of all these factors will be significant. By the end of the year, price increases for construction products could reach 30–35%, and some suppliers are already reporting even higher figures,” said Pilipenko.
He emphasized that this will have a significant impact on purchasing power and, in the medium term, may affect the dynamics and volume of construction: costs will rise, and consequently, the price per square meter will increase in both the residential segment and state-funded projects.
“Given this, the state program ‘eOselya’ will require a revision of its limits. Currently, the program is based on an average maximum cost of 48,000 UAH per square meter (66,000 UAH in Kyiv) and has certain restrictions on the maximum amount. However, if construction materials continue to rise in price, the limits will have to be increased by at least 20–25%. Otherwise, only a very limited number of projects will qualify for the program,” Pilipenko concluded.
The Kovalskaya Industrial and Construction Group has been operating in Ukraine’s construction market since 1956. It unites more than 20 enterprises in the fields of raw material extraction, product manufacturing, and construction. Its products are represented by the brands “Beton ot Kovalskaya,” “Avenue,” and Siltek. Kovalskaya’s enterprises operate in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Lviv, and Chernihiv regions. The aerated concrete plant in the Kherson region has been out of operation since the start of the occupation.
An analysis of the Bulgarian real estate market conducted by the Open4business portal showed that the growth in housing prices in Bulgaria has slowed, but foreign demand remains significant.
The pace of housing price growth in Bulgaria began to slow after a very strong surge throughout 2025, although the market itself remains in a growth phase. According to data from the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria (NSI), housing prices rose by 15.1% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, by 15.5% in the second quarter, and by 15.4% in the third quarter, indicating that the rate of price increases remains high but is no longer accelerating.
An additional factor driving growth in 2025 was the expectation of Bulgaria’s transition to the euro on January 1, 2026. As early as the end of 2025, Bulgarian media and market participants explicitly noted that some buyers were expediting their decisions specifically in anticipation of the currency change, which spurred activity in the housing market.
Foreigners continue to play a significant role in the Bulgarian real estate market, particularly in resort and coastal locations. However, it is important to note that complete official Bulgarian government statistics on homebuyers by citizenship for 2025–2026 are not publicly available. The most frequently cited recent breakdown of foreign demand is based on data from the Bulgarian Real Estate Association and market surveys. According to these estimates, in 2024–2025, the most active foreign buyers included citizens of the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Israel, Romania, Turkey, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.
According to the same market data, Ukrainians rank among the top 10 foreign homebuyers in Bulgaria. Their demand is driven both by relocation due to the war and by investment interest, primarily in properties on the Black Sea coast and in tourist regions. Among the most sought-after destinations are Varna, Burgas, Nessebar, as well as the mountain resorts of Bansko and Pamporovo.
The market continues to be supported by a price base that is relatively low by EU standards. Even after the recent growth, Bulgaria remains one of the most affordable housing markets in the European Union, which continues to attract foreign capital and sustain demand for apartments both for personal use and for rental purposes.
In the near term, the most likely scenario appears to be a further slowdown in price growth rather than a sharp decline. While the market grew at double-digit rates in 2025, a transition to moderate growth—roughly in the range of 5–7% per year—seems more realistic for 2026. This forecast is based on the already noticeable slowdown in growth rates, the high-base effect, and the fact that the euro has already been introduced and a significant portion of speculative demand was likely realized in advance.
Spot prices for silver hit a historic high amid increased demand for safe-haven assets and expectations of a softening of US Federal Reserve policy. Silver rose 1% to trade at $72.15 per ounce, with prices reaching a record high of $72.7 per ounce during the session, according to Experts Club.
Market participants attribute the growth to increased geopolitical risks, as well as “weak liquidity” at the end of the year, which can make market movements more volatile. As noted by Ilya Spivak, head of global macroeconomics at financial company Tastylive, precious metals are perceived as a neutral asset “without sovereign risk” in the context of deglobalization, and silver could approach $80 per ounce in the next 6-12 months.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center released a video analysis of the race for global leadership in silver production from 1971 to 2024. The analysis is available on the Experts Club YouTube channel.
Copper prices have again updated the historical maximum on the London Metal Exchange (LME) amid fears of shortages of the metal.
Quotes of futures for copper on the LME on Friday growing by 1.8% to $ 11.65 thousand per ton. Earlier during trading prices rose to $ 11.662 thousand per ton, which is a new record.
Stocks of metal in warehouses monitored by the LME fell to their lowest since July due to strong demand for copper in the U.S. on fears of imposition of duties on imports of non-ferrous metals in 2026. Rising U.S. demand could lead to copper averaging $13,000 a ton in the second quarter of next year, Citi analysts believe.
“We are confident in copper’s upside potential through 2026 due to a range of bullish factors, including increasingly positive fundamentals and macroeconomic indicators,” Citi said in a statement.
Since the beginning of the year, copper in London has risen by more than 30%.
Earlier, information and analytical center Experts Club released a video dedicated to global copper production and leading producing countries – https://youtube.com/shorts/_h8iU50z8C0?si=a-XkgGEfeUxseQNa.
Due to Russia’s full-scale invasion and its desire to use food as a weapon, transporting grain and oilseeds from Ukraine to other countries has become extremely difficult. Since 2022, logistics issues have had to be significantly revised in order to find safer shipping routes and options. Despite the dire circumstances created by the Russian Federation, Ukrainians are ensuring food security for many countries, particularly in Europe.
In March 2025, Kyiv exported a total of 4.7 million tons of grain and oilseeds and their processed products. This is 7% more than in the previous month.
“How does Ukraine transport grain and oilseeds, as well as products made from them? The lion’s share goes to the seaports of the Odesa region. This figure is 4 million tons. By rail – 300,000 tons, through the river ports of the Danube – 200,000 tons. It is also exported by road. The volume reaches 100,000 tons,” said grain market analyst Oleksandr Korenitsyn.
Exports of grain crops, oilseeds, and processed products, million tons
Let’s look at the prices of the main agricultural crops that Ukraine exports to world markets. In April 2025, the price of wheat (France, FOB) was 244 USD/ton. Note that this is 3 USD more than in March of this year and 29 USD more than in the same period of 2024. The price of wheat (Ukraine, 2nd class, CPT) in April 2025 was USD 211/t (central regions), which is USD 4 more than in March 2025 and USD 75 more expensive than a year ago. In ports, the price was 229 USD/t, which is 7 USD higher than in the previous month and 65 USD more expensive than in April 2024, according to the International Grains Council.
As for corn (USA, FOB), the price as of April 2025 was USD 211/t. This amount is USD 4 higher than in the previous month and USD 19 higher than in April 2024. The price of corn (Ukraine, CPT) in the central regions is 206 USD/t, thus increasing by 11 USD over the month and by 89 USD over the year; ports – 222 USD, which is 12 USD more than in March 2025 and 78 USD higher than in April 2024.
As noted by Oleksandr Korenitsyn, the price of barley (France, FOB) was 229 USD in April 2025, which is 1 USD less than in March of this year and 26 USD more than in the same period last year. The price of barley (Ukraine, CPT) was USD 195 in the central regions, which is USD 8 more than in March 2025 and USD 102 higher than in April 2024; in ports, it was USD 215 (the price rose by USD 5 per month and USD 85 over the year).
“Another important crop for Ukraine and the world that should be mentioned is sunflower. The price of its seeds in the EU (Rotterdam, FOB) in April this year was 730 USD/t. There has been an increase in price over the last month – by 7 dollars, as well as an increase over the year – by 273 dollars. Meanwhile, the cost of sunflower seeds (Ukraine, CPT) for the central regions was 537 USD/t. The price rose by 10 USD per month and 221 USD per year. For ports, the cost is $512 per ton, which is $6 more than last month and $194 more than last year,” said expert Oleksandr Korenitsyn.
We would like to add that the cost of sunflower oil (Ukraine, FOB) in April was $1,140 per ton. It should be noted that among the key factors that could destabilize further pricing on the world market and affect food security in Europe and the world are Russia’s military actions on the territory of Ukraine.
EUROPE, full-scale Russian invasion, grain exports, Korenitsyn, LOGISTICS, Odessa ports, OILSEEDS, PRICES, UKRAINE, VOLUME
Ministry of Economy and Trade has developed a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers “On Amendments to the Annex to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 957 of October 30, 2008”, which provides for an increase in the minimum wholesale and retail prices for certain types of alcoholic beverages.
According to information on the website of the Ministry of Economy, the current size of the minimum wholesale and retail prices for alcoholic beverages was established by the relevant Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution No. 748 in September 2018, except for retail prices for sparkling wines and carbonated wine drinks.
“The changes that have occurred in the socio-economic and tax spheres, in particular, the growth of the expenditure component of prices (raw materials, components, energy, labor costs, etc.), as well as the change of excise tax rates for alcoholic beverages on March 1, 2022, have led to the fact that the size of minimum prices does not correspond to the real costs of economic entities for the production and sale of alcoholic beverages and requires adjustment,” – noted in the explanatory note to the document.
The new resolution proposes to increase the size of minimum wholesale and retail prices for certain types of alcoholic beverages depending on the code of products from the UKTVED, including retail prices for vodka and liquor products to increase by 13%, whiskey, rum and gin – by 25%, cognac (brandy) – by 11-12%.
The rates for wine products, in particular, ordinary (non-sparkling) wines will be increased by 62%; for cider, perry, wines, vermouth and other fermented beverages (including mixtures of fermented beverages and mixtures based on fermented beverages), the actual strength of which is higher than 1.2% of volumetric units of ethyl alcohol, but not higher than 22% of volumetric units of ethyl alcohol – by 61-71%; for sparkling wines and carbonated wine drinks – by 28%.
Notes to the Decree will be supplemented with a new paragraph, according to which the minimum retail price for wine products (except for cider and perry (without added alcohol), fermented drinks obtained exclusively as a result of natural fermentation of fruit, berry and fruit-berry juices, with alcohol content not exceeding 8.5% of volume units (without added alcohol) in Tetra-Pak and Bag in box packaging will be determined as a derivative of the approved minimum price for the corresponding products in glass containers with a capacity of 0.7 liters, in other containers with a capacity of 0.7 liters.
All changes in the descriptions of goods and their grouping by codes according to UKTVED will be harmonized with the Tax Code of Ukraine.
