Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Drug Sales in Ukraine Rose by Nearly 20% in First Half of Year

Pharmacy sales of drugs in Ukraine from January through June 2026 increased by 19.52% in monetary terms compared to the same period last year, reaching nearly 97.918 billion UAH.

According to a report by Business Credit to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing research findings, sales of medicines in volume terms also rose—by 4.9%, to nearly 418.711 million packages.

The weighted average retail price of pharmaceuticals for the first half of the year was 233.85 UAH per package, which is 13.96% higher than the figure for January–June 2025.

Thus, the pharmaceutical segment demonstrated growth not only due to higher prices but also thanks to an increase in the number of packages sold. This distinguishes it from the pharmacy market as a whole, where sales in physical terms declined by 5.8% over the six-month period.

In the first quarter of 2026, pharmaceutical sales rose by 13.9% in monetary terms—to over 48.426 billion UAH—and by 4.85% in volume terms—to nearly 211.947 million packages.

In 2025, Ukrainian pharmacies sold medicines worth 170.318 billion UAH, which is 12.79% more than the previous year. The volume of sales then decreased by 0.2% to 808.546 million packages.

, , , ,

Ukraine’s pharmacy market grew to nearly 121 bln hryvnia in first half of year

Pharmacy sales in Ukraine from January to June 2026 increased by 15% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2025—reaching nearly 121 billion hryvnia—while in volume terms, they decreased by 5.8%—to approximately 533.955 million packages.

The company “Business Credit” reported this to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing the results of a study it conducted.

The weighted average price of items in the pharmacy basket for the first half of the year was 226.65 UAH per package, which is 22.15% higher than in January–June 2025.

Thus, the growth of the pharmacy market in monetary terms occurred against the backdrop of a decline in the total number of packages sold and a significant increase in the average cost of pharmacy products.

At the same time, the market’s growth rate in monetary terms accelerated compared to the first quarter. In January–March, pharmacy sales increased by 11.13%—to 60.245 billion UAH—while the volume of sales decreased by 4.8%, to approximately 270.958 million packages.

At the end of 2025, pharmacy sales in Ukraine totaled over 220.287 billion UAH, which is 14.23% more than in 2024. In volume terms, they declined by 2.25% during that period.

, , , ,

Market for new trucks and specialty vehicles grew by 41% in July

In July 2026, 1,206 new trucks and specialty vehicles were added to Ukraine’s fleet, which is 41% more than in July 2025 and 8.3% more than in June of this year, according to a report by Ukravtoprom on its Telegram channel.

Renault remains the market leader with 297 units, surpassing its June 2026 figure by 50 vehicles.
Citroën ranks second with 117 units (up by 5 units), and Mercedes-Benz ranks third with 114 units (it did not make the top five in June).

Rounding out the top five are Fiat with 107 units (7 more cars) and MAN with 97 units.
As previously reported, last July’s top five were Citroën, Renault, Hyundai, Peugeot, and Mercedes-Benz, with car sales rising by 2% compared to July of the previous year, to 971 units.

According to “Ukravtoprom,” overall, from January through July 2026, the growth rate of sales of trucks and specialty vehicles accelerated to nearly 15% compared to the same period last year, reaching 7,576 new vehicles (for January through June, the sales growth rate was 11%).
As previously reported, according to “Ukravtoprom,” registrations of new trucks and specialty vehicles in 2025 fell by 5% compared to 2024—to nearly 12,300 vehicles.

, , , ,

Ukraine’s New Car Market Shrank by 10.5% in July

Sales of new passenger cars in July of this year fell by 10.5% compared to the same month in 2025—to 5,754 thousand units, according to a report by “Ukravtoprom” on its Telegram channel.

According to the association, the most popular brand remains Japan’s Toyota, which increased its sales by 20% to 985 units.
Skoda took second place with 693 units (+24%), while VW came in third with 444 units (-10%).

The top ten most popular brands also included Renault with 345 units (-47%); BMW with 308 units (+17%); Hyundai with 298 units (=); Mazda—259 units (+66%); BYD—229 units (-69%); Suzuki—194 units (+39%); and Audi—156 units (-38%).
The Toyota RAV-4 crossover was the month’s best-seller.

According to Ukravtoprom, a total of about 38,800 new passenger cars were sold in the country from January through July, which is 1% less than a year ago.
According to Ukravtoprom, the new passenger car market in 2025 grew by 17% compared to 2024, reaching 81,300 units.

, , , ,

“Astarta” Increased Product Sales by 34% in Second Quarter

Astarta, an agro-industrial holding and Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, increased its product sales by 34.3% in April–June 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, reaching 266,640 metric tons, according to data published by the holding on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

According to the data, due to lower prices for sugar and milk, revenue growth was more modest—at 16.9%: in total, the company sold 4.58 billion UAH worth of its main products in the second quarter of this year, compared to 3.91 billion UAH in the second quarter of 2025.
In particular, sugar sales increased by 28% in volume terms in the second quarter of this year—to 92,600 metric tons—while the average selling price fell by 14.3%—to 20,770 UAH per metric ton.

Astarta’s sales volumes of wheat and corn during the reporting period amounted to 62.03 thousand metric tons and 3.18 thousand metric tons, respectively, at average prices of 9.90 thousand UAH per metric ton and 27.45 thousand UAH per metric ton, respectively, whereas the company did not sell these products in the second quarter of last year.
Corn sales, on the other hand, fell by 19.1% to 32.39 thousand metric tons, while the price rose by only 3.9% to 10.02 thousand UAH per metric ton.

Sales of soybean oil in the second quarter of 2026 fell by 27.8% compared to the same period in 2025—to 8.48 thousand metric tons—as the price of this product rose by 13.9%—to 52.28 thousand UAH per metric ton. Sales of soybean meal also fell by 15.8%—to 37.11 thousand metric tons—as the price rose by 23.1%—to 18.76 thousand UAH per metric ton.
The agricultural holding’s milk sales in April–June 2026 increased by 2.6% to 30.84 thousand metric tons, but the price of this product fell by 14.8% to 15.79 thousand UAH per metric ton.

Taking these figures into account, Astarta increased its total sales volume of core products for the first half of the year by 32.3% compared to the same period in 2025, reaching 656.28 thousand metric tons. Due to lower prices for sugar and milk, revenue growth was also lower—by 20.2%: in total, the company generated 10.95 billion UAH in revenue from its core products, compared to 9.11 billion UAH in the first half of 2025.

, , , ,

Nestlé plans to invest approximately 10 bln UAH in Ukraine in 2026

In the first half of 2026, Nestlé in Ukraine increased its sales in the country by 19.3% in value (in hryvnia) and by 10% in volume, to 56,000 metric tons, while the entire Ukrainian FMCG market in the categories where the company operates grew by 15% in value and 6% in volume during this period, according to Roman Yanovich, CEO of Nestlé in Ukraine and Moldova.

“This is a signal to invest,” he said, commenting on these results at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, and explained that overall, the Nestlé Group increased its global sales by 3.6% in the first half of this year, meaning that Ukraine is a growth driver for the company.

According to him, in the first half of 2026, the company invested 5 billion UAH in its operations in Ukraine, of which 200 million UAH went toward developing factories in Ukraine and 4.8 billion UAH toward developing product categories.

“Having invested 5 billion hryvnia in the first half of the year, we plan to invest an amount comparable to last year’s—10 billion hryvnia—by the end of 2026 to ramp up production and maintain the growth momentum we’ve achieved,” said the CEO.

He clarified that investments in factory development are expected to total 1 billion hryvnia based on this year’s results.

According to the CEO, in the confectionery category, sales growth for all players in the Ukrainian market in January–June of this year was 18% in hryvnia and 6% in volume; for prepared foods, 12% and 2%, respectively; for instant coffee, 16% and 4%; infant formula—20% and 7%, other children’s foods—20% and 10%, and animal feed—20% and 10%.

According to him, the market for coffee capsules is growing particularly rapidly—by 30% in value and 16% in volume. This market is small but has the potential to double or triple in size, Yanovich noted.

The CEO noted that Nestlé currently holds approximately half of the Ukrainian ketchup market under the “Torchin” brand and the cocoa market under the Nesquik brand, as well as one-third of the sauce market under the “Torchin” brand.

He added that as part of global campaigns, products under the Felix and ProPlan brands in the pet food category and KitKat in the confectionery category are currently being actively promoted in Ukraine, while local campaigns focus on the “Svitloch,” “Torchin,” and “Mivina” brands, as well as Dolce Gusto coffee capsules and Nesquik.

In addition, during the briefing, company representatives announced plans to expand this year’s culinary product line—which already includes more than 100 items—by approximately 20%. The “Asian line” is growing at the fastest rate—20–25%—while the category of instant noodles in cups is seeing triple-digit growth.

According to Yanovich, there is potential for improvement in the “Svitloch” brand and the coffee business, where the company aims to move up from second place to first, a position currently held by Jacobs.

The CEO stated that due to the increase in enemy shelling of warehouses, logistics is currently the top priority; therefore, the company has developed a plan to deliver goods directly to the supermarket chain without involving its distribution centers in the event of a critical situation.

He cited a labor shortage as another problem, which forced one of the company’s facilities to raise salaries by 30%. At the same time, Yanovych noted that although the company had considered options for hiring foreign workers, it is still trying to recruit staff specifically from among Ukrainians.

Yanovich also reported that in the first half of 2026, charitable donations totaled over 120 million hryvnia, and since the start of the full-scale war, the company has provided charitable aid totaling over 2 billion hryvnia.

Nestlé began operations in Ukraine in 1994 with the opening of a representative office. In 1998, it acquired a controlling stake in CJSC “Lviv Confectionery Factory ‘Svitloch,’” and since 2018, it has owned 100% of the company’s shares. In May 2003, Nestlé Ukraine LLC was founded in Kyiv, and by the end of that year, Nestlé had acquired 100% of the shares in Volyn Holding.

In 2010, Nestlé SA acquired Technocom LLC in Kharkiv, a manufacturer of instant foods under the “Mivina” brand. In 2012, Nestlé Business Service (NBS Europe) was established in Lviv; it is one of Nestlé’s seven service centers worldwide and provides support services to Nestlé divisions in more than 40 countries.

During the war, Nestlé invested EUR43 million in the construction of its fourth factory in Ukraine—in Smolygiv, Volyn Oblast—for the production of pasta, which opened in April 2025, and plans to increase its investment in the facility to EUR70 million by the end of 2027.

Nestlé’s business in Ukraine encompasses the following segments: coffee and beverages, confectionery, prepared foods (cold sauces, seasonings, soups, instant foods), infant and specialized nutrition, ready-to-eat breakfasts, and pet food.

, , , ,