Rubizhne cardboard packaging mill in Luhansk region, one of Ukraine’s largest cardboard packaging producers, produced 144 million square meters of corrugated cardboard boxes in January-July 2019, including goods from its subsidiary, Trypilsky packaging plant in Kyiv region, which was 1.1% down year-over-year.
In the seven months, the two enterprises demonstrated a slight increase in this indicator compared to the previous period of 2018.
The UkrPapir association said that the mills reduced production of components of corrugated cardboard (cardboard and fluting) by 20.5%, to nearly 100,000 tonnes, and cardboard output in general (including other types of this produce) fell by 23.6%, to 129,000 tonnes.
The total commodity amount produced by both enterprises in the period in monetary terms decreased by 15.7%, to UAH 2.669 billion.
According to UkrPapir association, cardboard packaging production in Ukraine in January-July 2019 fell by 2.7%, to 567.2 million square meters.
The Rubizhne cardboard packaging mill has been working on the packaging market since 1991. It produces components for corrugated cardboard (cardboard and fluting) and corrugated cardboard boxes. It also produces cardboard for gypsum boards.
Its most important customers are large confectioneries, juice and tobacco producers.
The Rubizhne cardboard packaging mill acquired Trypilsky packaging plant in 2002 and subsequently began producing corrugated cardboard and corrugated packaging.
In 2018, they produced 257.53 million square meters of corrugated cardboard boxes, which was 13.6% up on 2017.
Public joint-stock company Slovianski Shpalery-KFTB (previously Koriukivka industrial paper factory in Chernihiv region), one of the Ukrainian major wallpaper producers, in January-July 2019 produced 20.47 million conventional sheets of wallpaper, which was 33% up from a year ago, according to the UkrPapir association.
Through the seven months of 2019, the growth was 29.2% year-over-year, when a 13.4% fall was registered in Q1, 2019.
According to the association, over the period wallpaper production in Ukraine totaled 32.21 million conventional sheets of wallpaper, which was 44.6% less than in January-July 2018.
The share of Slovianski Shpalery-KFTB of total wallpaper production over this period was almost 63.6% up, while a year ago it was 26.5%.
In monetary terms, the volume of commodity products of the plant for January-July 2019 was UAH 1.107 billion that is 42% more than a previous year.
Slovianski Shpalery-KFTB produces several kinds of wallpaper, including washable, duplex, vinyl and acrylic wallpaper. It sells over 2,500 designs under the Slovianski Shpalery trademark.
The Agrofusion Group, a large tomato paste and industrial tomato producer in Ukraine, plans to plant and process 740,000 tonnes of tomatoes in 2019.
According to a press release available on the group’s website, season of tomato harvest gathering and processing began. The season will last until early October.
“Unfavorable weather conditions shifted a start of the season on a week. Now the weather is preferable for ripening and fruit quality. Tomatoes have good structure and color,” the company said.
Agrofusion is a vertically integrated group of companies for production of tomato paste (the Inagro brand) in Ukraine.
Agrofusion Group, founded in 2005, belongs to businessman Serhiy Sypko.
Agrofusion includes three tomato paste production plants with the processing capacity of about 750,000 tonnes of tomatoes per season, as well as farms in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, processing 25,000 hectares of irrigated land, and two greenhouse farms.
Ovostar Union, one of the leading producers of eggs in Ukraine, in January-June 2019 reduced sales of eggs by 10.2%, to 610 million units due to a significant reduction in trade operations.
According to the company’s report posted on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the company produced 782 million eggs against 787 million units for the same period last year.
Exports grew by 14%, to 335 million eggs, thus, the share of export in the total structure of sales is estimated at 55%.
The group of companies said that the average price of eggs fell by 8.7%, to $0.063/piece compared to the same period in 2018.
As of June 30, 2019, the total number of hens at the holding was 7.6 million, which is 2.7% more than on the same date in 2018. The number of laying hens increased by 4.8%, to 6.5 million.
According to Ovostar Union, the volume of egg processing in January-June of the current year grew by 5%, to 293 million units. Production of liquid egg goods during this period rose by 19%, to 7,210 tonnes, dry egg products decreased by 8%, to 1,530 tonnes.
Astarta agricultural holding, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, in January-March 2019 saw a fall in sugar sales by 42% year-over-year, to 53,960 tonnes, the company has reported on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) on Wednesday.
According to the press release, the sales of wheat for the period fell 78.7%, to 10,750 tonnes, sunflower by 42%, to 11,830 tonnes, and milk by 7%, to 26,020 tonnes.
At the same time, sales of corn increased 3.3-fold, to 304,210 tonnes, barley – from 9 tonnes to 2,410 tonnes, soybean oil – by 13%, to 14,220 tonnes, and soybean meal – by 11%, to 46,870 tonnes.
The company said that at the same time, the average sugar prices for this period decreased 15%, sunflower 10%, soybean oil 16%, while wheat grew by 20%, corn by 23%, barley by 1.8 times, soybean meal by 1%, and milk by 15%.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agricultural holding operating in five regions of Ukraine.
After three years of lucrative work, Astarta agricultural and industrial holding saw EUR 21.11 million in net loss in 2018 due to worsening of financial indicators and poor conditions on both sugar and grain markets. According to the company’s yearly report posted in the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange on April 8, last year its earnings reduced by 18.8%, to EUR 372.22 million, EBITDA dropped by 52.4%, to EUR 56.87 million, and export declined by 3 percentage points, to 56%.
In addition, Astarta’s net debt increased by 2.3 times, to EUR 295.45 million, in 2018.
“We are well prepared for 2019 and showing cautious optimism. The company has revised its investment program, adjusted its sales policy and improved its credit portfolio and spending patterns,” founder and Director General of Astarta Viktor Ivanchyk said in the report.
The company earned EUR 119 million in the sugar segment (32% from consolidated revenue) in 2018. Its sales are estimated at 325,000 tonnes (27% less than in 2017) while its prices dropped by 23%. The company explained drop in sales by weak pricing environment and increased costs value of products due to poor quality of the beet harvest in 2018. Export accounted for 40% from sales in 2018.
According to the report, Astarta estimated its share in sugar production of Ukraine at 21%.
The company earned EUR 127 million in the crop production segment (34% from consolidated revenue). Astarta constructed three grain elevators with a total capacity of 230,000 tonnes in 2018.
Astarta earned EUR 74 million in the soybean processing segment (20% from consolidated revenue), which is 2% more than in 2017. The company produced 42,000 tonnes of soybean oil and 141,000 tonnes of oil cake.
The company’s revenue in dairy farming dropped by 8%, to EUR 29 million, in 2018.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agribusiness holding operating in Poltava, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, and Kharkiv regions. The holding includes eight sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of about 250,000 hectares and dairy farms.
