The cost of agricultural production in Ukraine in January-March 2020 decreased by 7.3% compared to the same period in 2019. According to the State Statistics Service, the cost of crop production in the first quarter decreased by 8.3%, livestock products by 6.6%, material and technical resources of industrial origin used in agriculture by 9.8%.
At the same time, according to the service, the cost of agricultural production in March increased by 0.6% compared to the previous month. Thus, the cost of crop production rose by 0.1%, livestock products by 0.2%, but at the same time, the cost of material and technical resources decreased by 1.3%.
As reported, the cost of agricultural production in Ukraine in 2019 decreased by 0.64% compared to 2018.
PJSC Energomashspetsstal (Kramatorsk, Donetsk region), owned by Russia’s Atomenergomash (Rosatom state corporation), outputted products for UAH 2.26 billion in 2019, which is 6% less than the same indicator in 2018, and sold almost 86% of output for UAH 1.94 billion.
The enterprise said in a statement on its website on Monday, April 27, that such figures were given in the report of General Director of Energomashspetsstal Vitaliy Hnezdytsky at the general meeting of shareholders on April 23.
“Despite the decline in demand in the foreign and internal markets, increased competition from Asian manufacturers, the presence of excess capacity in Eurozone enterprises, PJSC Energomashspetsstal manages to preserve the accumulated potential and maintain a stable economic condition. The enterprise managed to output products almost at the level of last year,” the press service said, citing the general director’s report.
He said that there were some 59,300 tonnes of liquid steel [5% less than in 2018], some 3,200 tonnes of cast products (6.7% more), some 37,900 tonnes of forgings (7% less) produced in 2019.
“There were 85.8% of manufactured products amounted to UAH 1.940 billion sold in 2019. The main consumers were Germany, Kazakhstan, China, Finland, the United States, France, Poland, Romania, Belgium and others. There was entry into the gross products market of the United States, Brazil and Mexico,” the general director said in the report.
According to the report, the enterprise regularly pays salaries, and the average salary amounted to almost UAH 18,800 UAH in February 2020, which is 24% more than in February 2019.
The shareholders determined the output and sale of products in the amount of UAH 3.71 billion in 2020.
According to the Energomashspetsstal report in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, the shareholders also elected a new composition of the supervisory board, which included eight former members and instead of retired Yuriy Yatseniuk, who was a member of the supervisory board from 2011, introduced Kateryna Taruta [daughter of the MP and former governor of Donetsk region Serhiy Taruta] as a representative of the Cyprus EMSS Holdings Limited.
Energomashspetsstal is the largest Ukrainian manufacturer of special cast and forged products of individual and small-scale production for metallurgy, shipbuilding, energy (wind, steam, hydro, nuclear), and general engineering.
Ukraine has launched the domestic production of PCR tests and the first batch of 200,000 tests has been sent to regions, Secretary of the Coordination Council for Fight against COVID-19, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko said.
“As we promised a few weeks ago, Ukraine has launched the production of PCR tests. Today we have received the first batch of 200,000 tests. They will be sent to regions, the laboratories specialized in PCR testing, during the weekend,” the president’s press service cited him.
According to Tymoshenko, another batch of 400,000 tests is expected to be ready next week. The production of domestic PCR tests will continue and they will be distributed among healthcare institutions.
Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Microkhim (Rubizhne, Luhansk region) is ready to start production of a generic antiviral drug to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by the end of the year, Microkhim Director General Ihor Pohromsky has said in an interview with the Uriadovy Kurier government’s newspaper. “Now the key point is that we are transporting the substance. In the near future we will expose it to comprehensive analytical control, develop a dosage form and establish and conduct bioequivalence clinical trials. There is a lot of work ahead. There is a lot of professional work that we can do, but it has terms and limitations. However, the situation is such that, despite quarantine, we are ready to work to provide the country with a domestic drug this year, and I am sure that we will be first among national manufacturers, who will develop it,” he said, adding that it comes to the production of generic Avigan.
According to Pohromsky, “the drug was developed in Japan against several influenza viruses in 2014, and in 2015 it passed the third phase of clinical trials in the United States. It happened so that it was tested during an epidemic in Wuhan, and later allowed for experimental use in Italy against COVID-19. By the way, it has already become known that more than 30 countries have asked Japan to provide them with this drug for combating COVID-19. Japan has provided it to Ukraine to continue clinical trials involving patients with COVID-19.”
The general director said that the price of the generic drug made in Ukraine will be much lower than the price of the original. In addition, in the context of global hype, it is difficult to talk about the wholesale supply of original drugs to Ukraine. Therefore, according to Pohromsky, it is necessary to start domestic production.
JKX Oil & Gas with assets in Ukraine and Russia in the first quarter of 2020 increased its average daily hydrocarbon production by 11% compared to the same period last year, to 10,996 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), the company said on the London Stock Exchange’s website.
Thus, the average daily production in Ukraine increased by 7%, to 5,361 boepd, including gas production increased by 1%, to 715,000 cubic meters per day (Mcmd), oil and condensate by 38%, to 1,155 boepd. The average daily hydrocarbon production in the Russian Federation increased by 16% and amounted to 5,635 boepd. In particular, the average daily gas production for the reporting period is 946,000 cubic meters per day (16% more), condensate some 65 boepd (15% more).
The report says that well No. 143 was commissioned in the Ihnativske field in Ukraine in the first half of March. Its production rate is currently 157 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 65,000 cubic meters of gas per day.
The average selling price of gas in Ukraine in January-March was $150 per 1,000 cubic meters, which is 44% less than a year earlier ($269), oil some $49 per barrel (17% less).
The company’s cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2020 were equal to $14.2 million (as of December 31 some $20.6 million). In addition, JKX had $2.4 million worth of oil and gas reserves ($4.1 million as of December 31).
KSG Agro agricultural holding intends to achieve a 15% increase in pig breeding in live weight for 2020 compared to 2019.
“Increasing production is our strategic goal. Moreover, the market situation and increasing demand contribute to this. Therefore, our plans this year are to increase pig breeding products in live weight by 15% compared to the same indicator in 2019,” KSG Agro Board Chairman Serhiy Kasyanov told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the agricultural holding did not revise investment plans for 2020 due to quarantine and the uncertain economic situation in Ukraine.
“These plans are valid and we did not change them. The planned investment for the year to continue the reconstruction of the main industrial complex and the start of the design of the genetic reproducer will be about UAH 25 million. The genetic reproducer will produce Danish boars and sows, which will allow us to reduce costs and start sales to other customers,” the owner of KSG Agro said.
Kasyanov said that in 2020 the holding plans to increase exports of manufactured products.
“In the first quarter of this year, we exported 1,356 tonnes of wheat flour to Libya. Export volumes are growing. For comparison, we shipped 720 tonnes of wheat flour for 2019. So far, despite the crisis, we plan to increase the export of our products. In the second quarter we intend to export 2,000 tonnes of wheat flour, some 1,000 tonnes of barley, some 500 tonnes of refined sunflower oil and some 1,000 tonnes of other goods,” the KSG Agro board chairman said.
KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding, is engaged in pig breeding and production, storage, processing and sale of grain and oilseeds. As of June 30, 2019, the land bank of the holding in Ukraine amounted to about 27,000 hectares.
