Egg production falls by 13.7%, meat by 6.2% in Jan-March – statistics
Sales of meat for slaughter (in live weight) in Ukraine in January-March 2021 decreased 6.2% compared to January-March 2020, to 799,600 tonnes, milk production fell by 4.9%, to 1.75 million tonnes, eggs – by 13.7%, to 3.24 billion pieces, the State Statistics Service has reported. According to the authority, as of April 1, the poultry stock in Ukraine declined compared to April 1, 2020 by 4.9%, to 190.7 million heads, cattle by 6.4% – to 3.13 million heads (including the number of cows that decreased 5.7%, to 1.67 million heads), sheep and goats fell by 5.2%, to 1.32 million heads, and the number of pigs increased 3.7%, to 5.99 million heads.
According to the State Statistics Service, the sale of poultry for slaughter by agricultural enterprises in the first quarter of this year did not change compared to the first quarter of 2020 and amounted to 158 million heads, the sale of pigs grew by 7.0%, to 1.21 million heads, cattle decreased 19.3%, to 76,500 heads, sheep decreased 29.1%, to 11,100 heads. During the same period, agricultural enterprises sold 21.3% fewer eggs – 1.86 billion pieces.
The State Statistics Service said that the production of eggs in January-March 2021 significantly decreased compared to January-March 2020 in Ivano-Frankivsk region, to 60.3 million pieces (a fall of 49.5%), Mykolaiv to 30.8 million pieces (a fall of 47.1%) and Kharkiv to 100.2 million pieces (a fall of 40.3%), but increased significantly in Cherkasy region to 193.6 million pieces (a rise of 29%)
According to the authority, milk production for the first quarter of 2021 decreased most of all in Rivne region – to 59,400 tonnes (a fall of 14.7%), Odessa region to 45,100 tonnes (a fall of 11.7%), Mykolaiv region to 43,300 tonnes (a fall of 11.4%), but increased in Ternopil region to 75,200 tonnes (a rise of 6.8%) and Khmelnytsky region to 131,100 tonnes (a rise of 3.9%).
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, following the results of its activities in 2020, slightly reduced sales of products in Ukraine due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to an interview of the director of the sales department in Ukraine and the CIS, Yevhen Chumachenko, published in the Metalurg corporate publication, according to preliminary estimates, last year the company on the domestic market slightly reduced sales to the indicators of the previous year as a result of the pandemic and a lockdown in the first half of the year.
“The purchasing activity of our clients in general and construction companies, in particular, during this period significantly decreased. The most significant decrease in the volume of purchases was made by small and medium-sized construction companies, in which the majority of workers are from other regions of the country. People left before the lockdown and then did not have the opportunity to return to objects. The demand began to recover only from June, in July-October it remained at a fairly high level. In November, the buying activity seasonally, as well as against the background of fears of a second lockdown in December, slightly decreased. However, if to look in general, then for the second half of the year we partially managed to make up for the losses of the first half of the year,” he said.
According to him, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih managed to keep its market positions.
Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, in October-December 2020 increased sugar sales by 33% compared to the same period in 2019, to 81,180 tonnes with a 37% increase in its price, to UAH 13,240 per tonne.
As the company reported on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, sales of corn increased by 17%, to 294,560 tonnes, with a price increase of 19%, to UAH 4,860 per tonne, while wheat fell 81.8%, to 6,640 tonnes with a 34% rise in price, to UAH 5,590 per tonne.
Sales of sunflower seeds in October-December 2020 decreased by 38%, to 31,710 tonnes, soybean oil by 20%, to 8,510 tonnes, and soybean meal decreased by 12%, to 39,380 tonnes. At the same time, all these products also significantly increased in price, in particular sunflower by 22%, to UAH 10,160 per tonne, soybean oil by 49%, to UAH 25,490 per tonne and soybean meal by 51%, to UAH 12,700 per tonne.
According to the company, sales of milk in the fourth quarter of 2020 increased by 2%, to 22,230 tonnes with a price increase of 10% to UAH 11,310 per tonne.
The multiplication of these indicators leads to a sales volume of UAH 3.834 billion, which is 28.6% more than in the fourth quarter of 2019, in particular sugar sales increased by 82.1%, to UAH 1.075 billion, corn by 39.4%, to UAH 1.430 billion.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes eight sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 243,000 hectares and dairy farms with 25,000 animals, seven elevators, a biogas complex and a soybean processing plant in Poltava region (Globino Processing Plant LLC).
As reported, the net loss of Astarta in the first nine months of 2020 amounted to EUR 4.72 million versus EUR 1.93 million of net profit in the same period in 2019.
Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) sold 174,260 tonnes of poultry in October-December 2020, which is 10% more than in the same period in 2019.
According to the company’s report on the London Stock Exchange, poultry sales as a whole grew by 4% for the year, to 698,020 tonnes.
MHP clarified that poultry exports in the fourth quarter rose by 8%, to 94,710 tonnes, and in general for the year by 5%, to 373,730 tonnes.
According to the report, the average price of one kg of poultry last year (excluding VAT) decreased by 5% in hryvnias from 2019, to UAH 36.11, and in dollars – by 9%, to $ 1.34. In the fourth quarter, the average price was UAH 38.49, or $ 1.36, which, respectively, is 11% more and 5% less than in the fourth quarter of 2019.
“The 12-month 2020 average chicken meat price was UAH 36.11 ($ 1.34), which is 5% lower in hryvnia terms (9% less in dollars) compared to chicken price in 12 months of 2019, mainly driven by the product mix change in exports (significant decrease in sales of fillet to the EU and increased sales to MENA) and weaker prices on breast fillet in EU as many global competitors experienced reduced demand, which resulted in excess stocks,” the report says.
The company also clarified that Slovenian-based Perutnina and its production in Croatia and Serbia, whose figures will now be given separately as a European operating segment, sold 15,170 tonnes of chicken in the fourth quarter, which is 7% more than in the fourth quarter of 2019. In general, for the year its sales amounted to 63,010 tonnes against 59,800 tonnes in 2019, while prices for European chicken in the fourth quarter decreased by 6%, to EUR2.48 per kg, and for the whole of 2020 by 4%, to EUR2.52 per kg.
“After a temporary decrease in utilization of poultry production capacity in Q1 (by 10% from February to the end of March 2020 as a result of the avian influenza outbreak in Ukraine), since the beginning of Q2 all the company’s poultry production facilities have been operating at full capacity. There were several outbreaks of the avian influenza in Ukraine in December 2020, however, the company continued to export poultry meat to its major markets (except to the EU banned market). None of MHP poultry complex were affected with avian influenza by the time of pre-close trading update release,” according to the document.
“Poultry production volumes in Q4 2020 remained relatively stable, constituting 189,687 tonnes. In 2020 poultry production volumes were relatively stable and constituted 731,279 tonnes,” the company said.
The Opel brand in Ukraine in 2020 increased sales of cars (passenger cars and LCVs) by 84% compared to 2019, to 732 vehicles with an overall decline of this market by 2.2% (to 95,500 vehicles), the press service of the PSA group’s representative office in Ukraine, Peugeot Citroen Ukraine, has reported.
According to the report, sales growth was primarily driven by well-known models of the brand: the Opel Grandland X crossover (248 vehicles sold, which is 92% more), the Opel Crossland X compact crossover (174 vehicles, twice more) and the Opel Astra sedan (156 vehicles, 28% more).
Last year, several new models also debuted on the Ukrainian market, in particular, the sixth generation Opel Corsa, sales of which began in the middle of the year, and 37 cars were sold at the end of the year.
In addition, sales of Opel Combo commercial vehicles (passenger version of Combo Life and commercial van Combo Cargo) began in 2020, of which 84 were sold.
“Thanks to the launch of the line of commercial vehicles, the Opel brand is returning to the LCV segment again as a serious player and intends to significantly increase sales in 2021,” the press service said, specifying that last year a full line of Opel commercial vehicles was presented in Ukraine: Combo Life, Zafira Life, Combo Cargo, Vivaro, and Movano.
According to the report, despite all the problems and limitations of 2020, Opel continued developing its own dealer network in Ukraine, in particular, two new dealers were opened in the autumn of the year: Addis-Motors (Odesa) and Newton (Cherkasy), which are the only representatives of the brand in these cities.
At the end of the year, the brand’s dealer network includes 11 representative offices (three in Kyiv, one each in Dnipro, Lviv, Zaporizhia, Poltava, Kharkiv, Khmelnitsky, Odesa and Cherkasy), and four service partners who can carry out service without losing the guarantee: in Kyiv (two), Ivano-Frankivsk and Zhytomyr.
Ovostar Union, a vertically integrated holding company, one of the leading egg and egg products producer in Ukraine, in January-September 2020 cut shell egg sales by 10.5% year-over-year, to 795 million. Lower sales volume is accounted for by reduction of trading activities in the reporting period.
According to a company report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) last week, egg production grew by 3.8%, to 1.236 billion. Export of eggs fell by 41.2%, to 266 million eggs. The share of export of total sales was 34% versus 50% a year ago. Average price of eggs fell by 8%, to $0.056 per egg.
The group said that in January-September 2020, 433 million eggs were processed. The output of dry and liquid egg products was 2,597 tonnes (a rise of 19%) and 9,983 tonnes (a fall of 5%).
Sales volume of dry egg products grew by 39%, to 2,417 tonnes, including 71% was exported. Liquid egg products sales fell by 7%, to 9,692 tonnes, including 36% exported.
Average selling price of dry egg products fell by 8% to $4.05 per kg, and average selling price of liquid egg products decreased 16%, to $1.19 per kg.
As of 30 September 2020 total flock of the company was 8.1 million heads demonstrating 3% increase year-over-year. The laying flock grew by 3% year-over-year and reached 6.9 million heads.
“It is worth saying that during the nine months of the year the company has been quite successful in responding to the challenges related the COVID-19 pandemic and unfavorable macroeconomic environment. We have managed to minimize negative effects on the group’s operations and to increase production volumes. In general, the management finds the operational results for the reporting period satisfactory,” CEO Borys Bielikov said.
