Page 62 - UKRRptAug20

9.1.5​ Retail sector news
Attendance at shopping malls was down 20% during the first three weeks of June​, compared to the same last year. But sales were up 10-50%, depending on the category of goods, Evgenia Loktionova, director of UTG commercial real estate consultancy, tells Interfax-Ukraine. Depressing shopper numbers, movie theaters, food courts, and children’s play areas remain closed. y/y sales growths were recorded in these sectors: electronics +50%; sporting goods +30%; clothes +20%; children’s goods +18%; cosmetics and perfumes +10%; and shoes +5%. Pet supplies were down 20%.
9.1.6​ Agriculture sector news
Sunflower seeds were, once again, Ukraine’s most profitable crop, ​hitting 23.5% according to date from the State Statistics Service. In general, profitability was down across the board, reports Yuri Lupenko, director of the Institute of Agrarian Economics. He said: “The decline in profitability of crop production was mainly due to falling sales prices - a total of 8.8% for the year.”
In January-May 2020 Ukraine increased the production of the crude sunflower oil to almost 271 thousand tons,​ it’s 8% more compared to the same period in 2019. The refined oil increased to 411 thousand tons, which is a 23% increase. In addition, Ukraine has also increased the production of the sunflower meal by 4.2%. Ukraine is #1 in the production and export of sunflower oil in the global food market. Ukraine exported over 6 million tons of sunflower oil in crop season in 2018-19.
Ukraine set a new record in harvesting agricultural crops – 98mn tons for the 2019/2020 MY​, 62mn tons of, which were exported. As the country implements new technology and becomes more efficient, its agricultural output will only grow keeping it among the global agricultural powerhouses. The country exported over 54mn tons of grain in 2019/2020 MY, which is a 16% increase compared to the previous year. Ukraine has made significant inroads in recent years as a supplier of grains to key growth markets such as China, North Africa and the Middle East. The interest of international investors in Ukraine’s agriculture continues to grow as the market is strengthening its position on the world stage.
The EU lockdown is crimping Ukraine’s once booming snail farming industry,​ reports AFP. From 250 tons in 2018, Ukrainian snail farmers had expected to produce 1,000 tons this year, almost all for export. But with the restaurant business down sharply across Europe, orders have fallen to Ukraine’s 400 snail farmers.
62​ UKRAINE Country Report​ August 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com