Belarus and Ukraine may increase mutual commodity turnover to $5 billion in 2018, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Lyashenko said. “Positive dynamics of trade and economic relations between our countries was observed in the past few years. We have managed to stop the fall that was in 2013 and resume growth,” Lyashenko said at a plenary session of the first forum of Belarusian and Ukrainian regions in Gomel on Friday.
The amount of bilateral trade reached $4.6 billion in 2017 and went up 20% against 2016, he said.
“We project commodity turnover at $5 billion this year [an 8.7% increase from 2017],” Lyashenko said.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have decided to bring mutual commodity turnover to at least $8 billion in 2019.
Not only the governments of the two countries, but also the regions need to contribute to achieving this goal, Lyashenko said.
BELARUS, COMMODITY, GENERAL ELECTRIC, INFRASTRUCTURE, PROJECTS, TRANSPORTATION, TURNOVER, US
Ukraine in the first half of 2018 exported fruit and berries worth $100 million, which is 59% more than in the same period of 2017. According to the Ukrsadprom association, the main products in the structure of exports remain walnuts worth $64 million, frozen berries for $23 million, apples and pears for $8 million. “Compared with last year, the volume of walnut exports increased from 12,000 to 19,000 tonnes, apples and pears from 6,000 to 24,000 tonnes, while the deliveries of frozen berries decreased slightly from 17,000 to 14,000 tonnes,” the report says.
The main buyers of Ukrainian gardening products, according to the association, are the countries of the European Union, which account for more than 60% of the value of exports.
“In the six months, the largest fruit supplies in monetary terms from Ukraine were made to Poland for $11.2 million, France for $9.9 million, Turkey for $9.3 million, Belarus for $8 million, Germany for $5.1 million, Greece for $5 million and the Netherlands for $4.7 million,” the report says.
As noted, Ukrainian apples are mostly delivered to Belarus (46% of the value of supplies), Moldova (21%), and Sweden (10%).
BELARUS, BERRY, EXPORT, FRANCE, FRUIT, GERMANY, POLAND, TURKEY
Romania’s Tacrom and Belorusneft will conduct hydraulic fracturing at 80 wells of public joint-stock company Ukrgazvydobuvannia for UAH 486.5 million, according to the ProZorro e-procurement system. Tacrom, in particular, won a lot during a tender and conduct hydraulic fracturing at 50 wells of Ukrgazvydobuvannia for UAH 303.8 million. Belorusneft wins another lot and will conduct hydraulic fracturing at 30 well for UAH 182.725 million.
Tacrom and Belorusneft were the only rivals during the tender.
Ukrgazvydobuvannia, which is wholly owned by NSJC Naftogaz Ukrainy, is a large gas processing company, which accounts for about 75% of total gas output in the country. It operates Shebelynka gas refinery.
Growth of goods flow between Ukraine and Belarus was 15-16% in January 2018, Ukrainian Ambassador to Belarus Ihor Kizim has said.
“Our good flow is growing. Now we would reach $4.5 billion and even more… in January 2018, we saw 15-16% growth,” he told Interfax-Ukraine in Kyi v on Tuesday.
Kizim said that in 2017, the figure was 18%.
“We see the upward trend in the past two years after a decline in 2014 and 2015,” the diplomat said, reminding that in 2012-2013 goods flow between Ukraine and Belarus was $8 billion.
