Rice production in Ukraine in 2022 due to a full-scale war decreased 16 times compared to the previous year and amounted to only 3.1 thousand tons, while in the season-2023 this figure may increase by 3.5 times – up to 11 thousand tons, reported the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business (UCAB).
Its analysts recall that before the war, Odessa and Kherson regions were engaged in rice cultivation due to natural and climatic conditions.
“Due to the Russian attack, part of the territory of Kherson region was occupied, accordingly, Ukraine lost the opportunity to grow rice on these lands as early as last year. It should be noted that the production of this crop was mainly engaged in the left-bank part of the region, which is still under temporary occupation. Therefore, for a year and a half we have no possibility to get rice from this part of Ukraine,” the experts noted, adding that after the Kakhovskaya HPP dam was blown up, the chance of revival of rice farming in this region is extremely low.
According to their information, now only Odessa region is engaged in rice farming, which in 2022 grew about 3.1 thousand tons. Experts explained such small volumes by the uncertainty at the beginning of the war and reorientation to higher priority crops. As forecasted in UCAB, that in 2023 the situation in the region will slightly improve and the own production of rice will reach about 11 thousand tons.
Analysts also emphasized that Ukraine has always imported more rice than it grows, as there are countries where natural and climatic conditions are more favorable for growing this crop. However, the ability to provide itself with the necessary foodstuffs, guaranteeing its own food security, is also important.
Despite the war and the destruction of traditional logistical routes, the volume of rice imports remains at a relatively stable level, assures the UCAB.
According to its data, Ukraine imported 87.6 thousand tons of rice in 2022, which is 5% more than in 2021. The main supplier countries were China, India and Pakistan.
“In 2023, imports are expected at 73 thousand tons – 17% lower than in 2022. The reduction in imports is due to the increase in world rice prices and the low solvency of Ukrainians,” the UCAB summarized.
Large Ukrainian producer of sanitary-hygienic paper products TM “Ruta”, the managing company of which is JSC “VGP” (Lutsk), in January-July 2023 produced goods for UAH 950.34 mln, which is 96.7% more than in the same period of 2022.
According to the statistical data of the association “UkrPapir”, provided to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”, thus, the company still slightly accelerated the rate of growth of production volumes in monetary terms to the same period last year: for six months this indicator was 95.7%, for five months – 88.5%.
In physical terms, in particular, the production of toilet paper in rolls grew by 42% to 77.55 mln pieces, which is still the third result in the industry after Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill (142.71 mln pieces) and Kokhava Paper Mill (78.94 mln pieces), the gap with which is minimal.
VGP’s brand portfolio includes napkins, toilet paper, paper handkerchiefs, kitchen towels under Ruta, Ruta Selecta, Fesko, Nosovichok, Toweliecho, 100% paper, Servetta, Ecolo. The assortment has more than 189 items.
As reported with reference to the data of “UkrPapir”, in 2022 JSC “VGP” produced products for 977.61 million UAH – 2.8% more than a year earlier. At the same time, according to the company’s report, in physical terms (in tons) the production volume decreased by 27% due to the loss of part of the sales markets in Ukraine with the beginning of the military aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
Net profit decreased to UAH 3.62 mln compared to UAH 96.43 mln a year earlier, while net income grew 14% to UAH 1 bln 075 mln.
More than a quarter of sales volume was exported in 2022. The products are represented on the markets of Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, Denmark, Poland, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Baltic States.
The base paper for the production of products was purchased mainly from manufacturers in Turkey and Romania.
The owner of 100% of shares of VGP JSC is Tissico Limited (Cyprus), the beneficiaries, according to the state register, are Ilya Miretsky, the company’s general director, and Kamil Gotza, a Czech citizen.
Chanta Mount LLC (Novi Petrivtsi, Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region) has received UAH 8 million in non-refundable grant aid from the state for the New Level processing plant, which will help it resume production of frozen bread, the press service of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine reports.
According to the report, in March 2022, the bakery was damaged by shelling by the Russian occupiers. The bread production line was almost completely destroyed, and the croissant production line was partially destroyed: six shells hit the premises. The damage was estimated at more than EUR 5 million. Before the war, the plant employed 140 people, now it has about 40.
“The bread production line was destroyed by Russian troops with Grad rockets on March 16, 2022. The epicenter of the explosion was in the part where we freeze and pack bread. (…) Only because there was a curfew, our people were not injured. We immediately realized that we could not cope with the recovery alone, so we needed to look for grant opportunities,” the press service quoted the bakery’s director, Elena Taranenko, as saying.
The company’s management has applied for participation in the government’s program of non-refundable grants for processing enterprises from the Ministry of Economy and will receive the maximum amount of UAH 8 million.
“We have to make our contribution of UAH 4 million. The grant money will be used to buy freezing and refrigeration equipment,” said Taranenko.
In addition, to launch the bread production line, it is necessary to equip the packaging department and build a warehouse for finished products. This will require EUR 2 million.
In the spring of 2024, the bakery plans to resume full production and supply frozen bread to ATB, Silpo, Fora, Novus, METRO, Auchan, Epicenter, and Varus supermarkets.
Meanwhile, the croissant production line is reportedly already in operation. The frozen croissants are sold to national retail chains, bakeries, cafes, supermarkets, and for export. So far, up to 1.5-2 tons are baked daily, but the potential capacity is over 400 kg/hour.
The Ministry of Economy reminded that the government’s e-Work project includes grant programs aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship and job creation. Microgrants are issued for starting or developing your own business, including processing enterprises, planting a garden, vineyard, or greenhouse. Both existing entrepreneurs and people with no business experience can apply for a grant.
In 2022, Chanta Mount LLC received UAH 26.441 million in revenue, while a year earlier it received UAH 181.4 million, and the loss increased to UAH 94.409 million from UAH 3.1 million in 2021.
According to Opendatabot, Chanta Mount LLC was registered in 2018, and the ultimate beneficiary is Olena Chernysheva. The company’s authorized capital is UAH 23.7 million.
Plants of nitrogen holding Ostchem, which unites enterprises of nitrogen business of Group DF, produced 959.7 thousand tons of mineral fertilizers in the first half of 2023, which is 60.9% more than in the same period last year, when 596.3 thousand tons were produced.
According to the press release of Group DF on Wednesday, Rivneazot produced 201.2 thousand tons, Cherkassy Azot 758.6 thousand tons, including in May it reached the maximum since the beginning of the war – 138.6 thousand tons.
It is specified that the structure of production in the first half of the year corresponded to the structure of demand for nitrogen fertilizers, taking into account the prices of competitors and the margins of individual products. The key products were: ammonium nitrate – 398.7 thousand tons (313.3 thousand tons in 6M 2022); urea-ammonia mixture (UAN) – 277.7 thousand tons (116.8 thousand tons); urea – 205.9 thousand tons (76.4 thousand tons). At the same time, production of limestone-ammonium nitrate (UAN) dropped almost fourfold to 17.2 thousand tons.
“Ostchem’s enterprises have adapted to work under war conditions. Under the conditions of war risks, logistical problems, blackouts and unscheduled shutdowns, the plants managed to pass peak load periods and ensure timely shipment of fertilizers to agrarians clearly in accordance with the concluded agreements,” the report quotes Ostchem’s nitrogen business head Sergiy Pavliuchuk as saying.
According to him, at the moment the main task is to prepare production facilities for the fall season, and after the completion of repairs key workshops will be launched, and the load of plants in August will increase.
It is noted that the main factors that contributed to a successful spring season and the implementation of the production plan are increased demand from farmers and large agricultural holdings and increased sales due to soft loans, acceptable gas prices and lower fertilizer selling prices, as well as the spring sowing season delayed due to weather conditions.
“Our companies are ready to produce as much fertilizer as the market can buy. Illegal imports of repackaged Russian fertilizers are holding back the development of the domestic chemical industry,” said Oleg Arestarhov, Head of Corporate Communications at Group DF.
According to him, Russian fertilizers are imported to the customs territory of Ukraine from five countries of the former Soviet Union. In particular, Arestarhov specified, since the beginning of this year, 382.8 thousand tons of urea were imported into Ukraine, including 269.5 thousand tons from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, while domestic production amounted to 205.9 thousand tons.
“With such a volume of imports, it will be much more difficult for urea producers such as Dniprazot and OPZ, which are now standing, to start up,” said the head of Group DF’s corporate communications department.
The release also notes that Ostchem will continue to increase production volumes in new sectors of chemistry. In particular, the company counts on AdBlue – a liquid reagent for diesel cars, the production volume of which amounted to 4.2 thousand tons in the first half of the year.
In addition, production of carbon dioxide in the first half of 2023 amounted to 10.1 thousand tons, while during this period Cherkassy Azot has been increasing its output on a monthly basis, and Ostchem has started to develop its logistics infrastructure to ensure stable supplies of industrial gases both in Ukraine and Europe.
Group DF consolidates Dmytro Firtash’s assets in the gas distribution, chemical, titanium and port industries, as well as in agriculture and media.
Ostchem is the nitrogen holding company of Group DF, which unites the largest mineral fertilizer producers in Ukraine. It includes Rivneazot, Cherkasy Azot, as well as Severodonetsk Azot and Stirol, which are out of operation and located in the occupied territories.
Global cereal production will reach a new record in the 2023/2024 crop year thanks to strong corn harvests in the US and soybean harvests in Brazil, the International Grains Council (IGC) has forecast.
It estimates total cereal production of 2.297 billion tons in 2023/2024, compared with 2.259 billion tons in 2022/2023 and 2.295 billion tons in 2021-2022.
Wheat will produce 784 million tons, corn 1.22 billion tons, rice 527 million tons and soybeans 400 million tons, according to the IGC forecast.
“Cereal consumption could increase by 2 percent and also reach a record high, given rising demand for cereals in food, feed and industrial uses,” the organization said in its review.
IGC estimates that cereal consumption will reach 2.306 billion tons in the 2023/2024 crop year.
Kyiv Macaroni Factory LLC has mastered the production of a new type of product – bows – using previously installed equipment that had been idle for a long time, said the company’s owner, Alexander Barsuk.
“One of the most complex elements of pasta is butterflies (bows). Kyiv Pasta Factory has mastered the production of this product. This is not new equipment, although it is from a well-known European manufacturer. Previously, it refused to work, and everything was somehow wrong. They also blamed the flour. But we found better flour and set up production. The first batches already have a guaranteed order,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to the owner of the company, the new product will be packaged in 800-gram packages.
Answering customers’ questions about why the product is not packaged in kilogram packages, he explained that all packs on supermarket shelves should be the same size. The type of pasta – bows – is bulky and does not fit in a standard pack.
Mr. Borsuk added that the company is working on new types of pasta, which it will soon introduce to customers.
According to the website of the Kyiv Pasta Factory, which is part of the Yaroslav Group (Kyiv), it is the largest pasta company in Ukraine. Its products are supplied throughout the country and to neighboring countries.
In 2022, Kyivska Macaroni Factory LLC reduced its net loss to UAH 4.576 million from UAH 8.19 million a year earlier, and its revenue to UAH 103.244 million from UAH 116.906 million.
According to Yaroslav’s website, its production facilities include Yaroslav PE (Kyiv), Promin Factory (Dymer, Kyiv region), Boguslav Clothing Factory (Kyiv region), Steblivska Cotton Spinning and Weaving Factory (Cherkasy region), and Krolevets Clothing Factory (Sumy region).
The main specialization is the production of bed linen, rugs, blankets, mattresses, goods for children, and kitchen textiles.
Yaroslav’s director and owner, Oleksandr Borsuk, previously reported that he annually invests about $1 million in equipment and modernization of production facilities.
