The Polish Trade Inspectorate for Quality of Agricultural and Food Products (IJHARS) has fined 1.5 million zlotys (about $380,000) to an importing company that imported technical rapeseed and fodder wheat to the Polish market and sold them to a number of local companies as food agricultural products, according to the website of the agency.
It is specified that the trade inspection checked 3,882 tons of rapeseed and revealed the facts of changing the declared purpose from technical to consumer use and the declared country of origin from Ukraine to Poland.
A similar decision on the importing company in the form of imposing a fine was issued for the shipment of 7679 tons of wheat, which also revealed a discrepancy between the purpose of the product and its country of origin.
“Agri-food products intended for technical purposes are generally not produced, stored or transported in accordance with the safety standards required for food products. They are competitively priced because they are not subject to the provisions of food law, and businesses selling them do not incur the costs associated with meeting higher safety standards,” the agency said.
The trade inspectorate, based on the analysis of seized documentation, found that the fined company had put on the market more than 11,500 tons of counterfeit rapeseed and wheat imported from Ukraine and resold the goods to six counterparties from the Pomeranian and Lubelskie voivodships.
“Regardless of the administrative decision issued, the case is also the subject of criminal proceedings under the supervision of the regional prosecutor’s office in Rzeszów,” the office emphasized.
The fine issued to IJHARS in Lublin is not an isolated case, the Trade Inspection Office emphasized. Over the past few months, 6 other companies were fined for similar violations in the supply of wheat, barley, poultry meat and for obstructing inspectors from inspecting cargoes from Ukraine.
According to Przemyslaw Rzodkiewicz, chief inspector of commodity quality of agricultural and food products, inspectors checked more than 82,000 shipments in 2023.
“In order to intensify activities to ensure proper quality and positive image of food products in Poland, we have created a special group in IJHARS to combat food fraud and will soon launch a campaign together with numerous partners to counter misinformation about this category of goods,” he said.
The volume of completed construction works in Ukraine in 2023 increased by 41.5% compared to 2022 – up to 162.7 billion UAH, according to the data of the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).
According to the statistics department, the volume of construction work in residential construction by the end of 2023 increased by 11.1% compared to the previous year, to 22.3 billion UAH; in non-residential – increased by 38.1%, to 41.5 billion UAH; in engineering – by 52.6%, to 98.8 billion UAH.
In December-2023, the volume of construction work exceeded the figure of December-2022 by 35.1%, and the previous month – by 85.8%, notes the State Statistics Service.
As reported by the State Statistics Office, in January-December 2023 to the same period of 2022, the reduction in construction was observed in the segment of housing – by 4.6%. At the same time, non-residential and engineering construction recorded an increase in volumes – by 20% and 32.9%, respectively.
According to the seasonally adjusted data of the department, the indices of construction products in December-2023 in residential construction amounted to 49.4%, in non-residential – 88.3%, in engineering – 112.7%, and taking into account the effect of calendar days, the indicators are 71.5%, 188% and 273% respectively.
The share of new construction to the total volume of completed construction works amounted to 36.3%, repair – 42.9%, reconstruction and technical re-equipment – 20.8%.
The State Statistics Service notes that the publication of data was postponed due to martial law. Statdata are given without taking into account the temporarily occupied territories and part of the territories where hostilities are (were) conducted.
As reported, the volume of completed construction works in Ukraine in 2022 decreased by 2.2 times compared to 2021 – to 113.8 billion UAH.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Portugal Luiz Montenegro have instructed to start working on a security agreement.
“I had a phone conversation with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Portugal Luiz Montenegro. I thanked him for his personal principled position in support of Ukraine and wished him fruitful work for the prosperity of Portugal,” Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.
“We discussed the implementation of previous defense agreements between our countries and instructed the teams to begin work on the preparation of a bilateral security agreement within the framework of the G7 declaration. We coordinated future joint contacts,” the president also wrote.
The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) has sold a complex of buildings of the Uman Correctional Colony for UAH 29 million at a privatization auction, which is 194 times higher than the starting price.
According to SPF Chairman Vitaliy Koval on Facebook, 42 companies and entrepreneurs participated in the auction. The starting price of the lot was UAH 149.4 thousand.
According to the results of the auction on the Prozorro.Sale website, the winner of the auction was Borys Pakholyuk. According to Clarity Project, he owns a number of agricultural enterprises and farms in Cherkasy and Odesa regions.
The lot includes a complex of non-residential buildings and structures with a total area of 3.1 thousand square meters and a land plot of 0.59 hectares. The property had not been used for more than 20 years.
Koval reminded that the Ministry of Justice transfers unused penitentiary institutions to the SPF for further privatization.
Vitaliy Koval, Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine
Small-scale privatization has been systematically gaining momentum over the past 5 years (from 2019 to 2023) with some interruptions, in particular due to a full-scale invasion. Last year’s performance largely surpassed all previous results and demonstrated the effectiveness and timeliness of privatization in general.
Budget revenues
As a result of small-scale privatization in 2019, which was carried out by the State Property Fund of Ukraine, the budget received approximately UAH 561 million. The following year, this amount increased almost 5 times and exceeded UAH 2.69 billion. In 2021, the budget received UAH 3.5 billion. In 2022, when there was a break in privatization until September, the Fund transferred assets worth UAH 1.74 billion to private investors in less than six months.
Last year, proceeds from the privatization of state property amounted to UAH 2.84 billion. The state has fully resumed this process and is helping to support the state budget with funds that ensure our protection and defense against the aggressor. In total, over the past 5 years, privatization revenues, excluding large-scale privatization objects, amounted to UAH 11.34 billion.
As for the price of the assets sold by the Fund, the final value of the property increased the most compared to the starting price in 2020.
Increase in the sale price of assets relative to their initial value
After the fall of this indicator in 2021, it has been growing over the past two years. Thus, in 2023, the sale price was 2.7 times higher than the initial price.
Competition in auctions
The increase in budget revenues and the growth of the final price indicate an important thing. Participants in the auctions held by the SPFU through the Prozorro.Sale system are interested in state assets and are ready to fight for them. The indicators of competitiveness in 2023 leave no doubt about this.
Average competition in privatization auctions
Over the past 5 years, competition in successful auctions has been growing steadily. But while from 2020 to 2022 its level was in the range of 3.1-3.6 bidders per auction, in 2023 almost 5 bidders competed for each lot on average.
This year, there is every chance of exceeding even such strong results: in the first quarter of 2024, more than 5 bidders took part in each successful auction on average.
Business interest in state assets
Business activity in privatization auctions is driven by many factors. Some companies need to relocate to regions far from the front line. Some entrepreneurs want to build a business on a ready-made material base, with the infrastructure, equipment and communications offered by the state when it sells, for example, single property complexes. Others need real estate, warehouses, workshops, garages, etc. to expand their current capacities.
So entrepreneurship in Ukraine is developing even in the face of war and other difficulties. And the government is striving to provide business with resources that will help it do so.
There are lots in which the market sees such great prospects and value that dozens of participants compete for them at once. The record was set in 2020, when 48 bidders competed for an unfinished garage for 50 cars in Kyiv. The second lot was non-residential premises in Uzhhorod. This auction, which had 47 bidders, took place in 2023.
As a result of this demand, the price of the first property in Kyiv increased almost 35 times (from just over UAH 1 million to UAH 36 million). And the cost of the second lot in Uzhhorod increased 818 times (from UAH 12.2 thousand to UAH 10 million).
Businesses are interested in assets of different sizes, but the vast majority of lots sold through privatization cost up to UAH 1 million.
Distribution of successful auctions by the final value of the privatized object
In 2020, the share of auctions where the sale price of an asset was up to UAH 1 million reached a maximum of 86%. At the same time, in 2022, the share of auctions with the final value of the object from UAH 1 to UAH 10 million and even in the range of UAH 10-100 million increased significantly. Last year, the trend went in the opposite direction again: the number of assets sold for up to UAH 1 million began to grow.
It is also important to understand the overall economic context in Ukraine. A sharp drop in the hryvnia exchange rate, the crisis in many markets, the occupation of territories, and many other things have affected the ability of businesses to operate. This has hit small businesses particularly hard, as their already scarce material resources have been significantly depreciated and other problems have been added.
The return of demand for inexpensive, small state assets suggests that small and medium-sized businesses are resuming activity and continuing to grow after the first shocks of the full-scale invasion.
The average number of bidders in privatization auctions, relative to the final value of assets
At the same time, large market players are also interested in large state-owned assets when they come up for sale. Thus, in 2023, an average of 14.1 bidders participated in auctions with a sale price of more than UAH 100 million. At the same time, the average competition in auctions up to UAH 1 million last year amounted to 3.9 participants.
Efficiency of privatization processes
Overall, privatization auctions attracted thousands of players from different markets. The highest number of bidders, namely 2035, was in 2023. This is 3.3 times more than in 2022 and almost twice as many as in 2021. In 2020, this figure exceeded 1340 bidders. And in 2019, when privatization had just intensified, there were about 800 of them.
Legislative changes, business activity, competitive bidding, and their transparency and openness have helped to increase the efficiency of privatization processes. At the same time, the State Property Fund has also changed its approach in recent years and improved the process of preparing objects for sale. Information about the availability of state assets for privatization was disseminated through various communication channels to draw attention to these lots. In general, all information about the current lots, how to participate in the auction, and the results of privatization is collected on a separate special resource.
The Fund has developed a mechanism for sorting (triage) state assets, depending on their condition and market needs. The property that has no value or exists only on paper will be liquidated or bankrupt. Those objects that can work for the benefit of the economy in private hands will be privatized.
Effective steps taken by the SPFU and the interest of private investors have yielded results: in 2023, the share of successful auctions increased many times over compared to previous years.
Increase in the share of successful SPFU auctions
The lowest rate of successful auctions was recorded in 2021-2022: it was 17% of all announced auctions. Therefore, the peak result of almost 47% last year is a difference of 2.8 times.
Over the past 5 years, privatization has become more efficient, increased revenue, and attracted the attention of more and more entrepreneurs. This proves the success of Ukraine’s privatization strategy, when the state, instead of subsidizing unprofitable assets, gives them a new life and helps generate funds for the state budget at a time when the survival of our country depends on these revenues.
Ukraine has exported 34.862 million tons of grain and leguminous crops since the beginning of the 2023/24 marketing year and as of April 1, of which 5.192 million tons were shipped in March, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization Denis Bashlyk said in Telegram.
According to the report, in terms of crops, 18.765 million tons of corn, 13.842 million tons of wheat, 1.962 million tons of barley, and 1,000 tons of rye have been exported since the beginning of the current season.
The total export of Ukrainian flour since the beginning of the season as of April 1 is estimated at 79.3 thousand tons, including wheat flour – 75.1 thousand tons.
