Since July 5, Australia has marked tariffs on Ukrainian imports of goods, in addition to alcohol, fuel and tobacco, as a support package for a year, according to the website of the Australian Department of Trade and Tourism.
As indicated by the agency, we are talking about reducing tariffs from 5% to zero for a period of 12 months for a number of goods that are produced or produced in Ukraine. At the same time, it is clarified that duties equivalent to excises remain in force, for example, those that apply to fuel, alcohol and tobacco products.
According to the report, such measures from Australia and other states support the economy of Ukraine and expand its trading opportunities, and they are also important for Ukraine’s recovery in the near and long term.
According to the report, in 2021, Ukrainian exports to Australia amounted to $122 million.
Subscribers of the Kyivstar mobile operator can now communicate at their “home” tariffs in 16 EU countries.
According to the press service of the company on Wednesday, up to nine EU countries (Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Germany, Italy, Lithuania and the Czech Republic), where for more than a month subscribers can use mobile communications and the Internet at tariffs, as in Ukraine , Kyivstar adds France, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Latvia and Estonia.
In addition, as noted, the operator increases the list of tariff plans for which new conditions apply. In contract and business clients, as before, they work in almost all tariffs, and for prepaid subscribers they will be available not only in the tariffs “Your” and “All together”, but also in part of the offers for 2019-2020.
“In collaboration with foreign partners, we were able to significantly change the conditions of international roaming. Thanks to this, more than 80% of our customers can use calls and the Internet abroad by simply paying their own tariff. This is not only cheaper and more convenient for them, but is very important for Ukrainian telecom. The more customers abroad pay their tariff and use Kyivstar services, the more we will be able to invest in the restoration of infrastructure in Ukraine and in supporting customers in areas with hostilities,” Oleksandr, head of the additional services and operator relations department at Kyivstar, is quoted. Galushko.
Tariffs for the transportation of grain cargo by rail in Ukraine in January-March 2022 increased by 15% compared to the first quarter of 2021, and by 6.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the website of the State Service Ukrainian statistics.
In its report, the agency does not provide data on the growth of the tariff rate in monetary terms.
In the first quarter of 2022, the tariffs for the transportation of chemical and mineral fertilizers increased more significantly – by 41.7% compared to January-March 2021, while the tariff for the transportation of timber increased in price similarly to grain cargoes – by 15%.
In general, tariffs for freight transportation by rail in Ukraine increased by 25.4% in the first three months of 2022.
Kyiv will leave tariffs for hot water at the level of the previous heating season until May 31, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
“Today, in the conditions of martial law, when people found themselves in a difficult financial situation, we made an important decision on the provision of public services in the capital. This decision will ensure the use of tariffs for hot water and heat energy for its preparation until May 31 at the level of the previous heating season. That is, we will extend these tariffs without raising them!” Klitschko said after a meeting of the city council on Friday.
The Kyiv mayor recalled that the city authorities managed to keep tariffs for heat and hot water in the 2021-2022 heating season – “despite a significant increase in the costs of producing these services.”
“So today, in difficult conditions for the state and people, the city continues to restrain tariffs. Further adjustment of the cost will depend on the price of gas, which will be set at the state level. Today, we are doing what we can and what depends on us,” he said.
Mobile network operators Kyivstar and Vodafone Ukraine are in dialogue with the Ministry of Digital Transformation on the issue of smartphoneization of the elderly.
“Preliminary consultations with the Ministry of Digital Transformation on this project were held. But the implementation and details of the project have not yet been finalized,” the Kyivstar press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
The company recalled that the operator is systematically working to overcome digital barriers between generations: in 2019, the educational project Smartphone for Parents was launched; at the beginning of 2020 a special line of tariffs for subscribers over 60 years old were introduced.
“Digital services, for which we, among other things, are building coverage, cannot be obtained on feature phones. Therefore, smartphoneization is a strategic task at the national level. We are already in dialogue with government authorities on this issue. At the moment, we are waiting for project proposals, which we can study,” the press service of Vodafone Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine.
The company said that not all Ukrainians still use smartphones: according to the operator, about 28% still use feature phones. In most cases, these are older subscribers.
“The authorities have indeed turned to us with a request for a preferential tariff for pensioners. lifecell is ready to join the working group on this project. Details on the development of the tariff will be discussed at joint meetings with the Ministry of Digital Transformation,” lifecell’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
The operator also said that among its already existing offers, one can choose convenient tariffs for each subscriber.
The rise in railway tariffs for freight transportation may increase the load on road transport and road infrastructure, as well as increase prices for final products in the energy and construction sectors.
This opinion was expressed by representatives of core business segments at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
“Ukrzaliznytsia, as a monopoly carrier, is once again simply raising tariffs. What will this mean for the cement industry: firstly, the prices for the transportation of coal will rise, and secondly, the prices for the transportation of raw materials and additives to cement will rise. Thirdly, prices will rise directly for the final product for the consumer,” Executive Director of the Association of Cement Producers of Ukraine (Ukrcement) Liudmyla Kripka said.
According to preliminary estimates of the association, such an increase in tariffs will affect both the cost of cement and the final product for the consumer by about 5-8%, which, in turn, will increase the cost of construction projects.
At the same time, Kripka said that Ukrzaliznytsia may not receive the expected income from the increase in tariffs due to the transfer of enterprise logistics to the segment of road transportation.
“As a result, Ukrzaliznytsia will not receive income, but the load on road transport will increase,” she said.
Director General of the Federation of Transport Employers of Ukraine Volodymyr Husak agreed with this forecast. According to him, Ukrzaliznytsia will not be able to implement the plan to receive about UAH 2 billion by the end of this year from the increase in freight rates.
“This money will not be available, as we will see an accelerated withdrawal of Ukrzaliznytsia’s clients primarily to highways. This trend has been observed for several years… Due to the reorientation of goods to highways, there will be an additional load. Roads will collapse faster. There will be no effect from the implementation of the Big Construction program of the President of Ukraine,” he said.
In addition, Husak said that due to the rise in the cost of transportation of building materials – crushed stone, cement – the volume of the Big Construction program will also decrease.
At the same time, maintaining low prices in the passenger segment and an increase in the cost of cargo transportation will ultimately lead to an increase in tariffs in the energy sector, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Employers of the Fuel and Energy Complex of Ukraine Serhiy Chekh said.
“What will the implementation of this order [of the Ministry of Infrastructure] mean for us, power engineers? This is extra UAH 40-50 per tonne of transported coal and about 3% growth in the cost of electricity at the exit from the thermal power station,” he said.
Experts emphasize that for the effective development of the rail transport market, it is necessary to ensure equal competitive conditions, introduce projects for the use of private locomotives, and update legislation in this area. In addition, it is necessary to update the management and supervisory board of Ukrzaliznytsia for effective governance, to carry out its reform in accordance with the government’s plans.
As reported, earlier in July, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine published a draft order on a two-stage increase in tariffs for cargo transportation of a group of goods of 1 and 2 tariff classes from September 2021 by 8%, and from January 2022 – by 20.4% and 6.5%.
