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tons (+22.8%). Grain cargoes were processed the most - 34.9 million tons (+70%).
The cargo turnover in the Danube region’s seaports have increased by 120% during the year, said the head of the Seaports Administration of Ukraine, Yury Lytvyn. The 10-month figure amounted to 27.6 million tons, which is 2.2 times more compared to the same period in 2022 (12.6 million tons).
● Cars
Ukrainian carriers are losing €300 daily due to the border blockade; the EC plans to punish Poland. The 90% blockage of the Ukrainian border by Polish carriers has a political component, and every day of downtime costs Ukrainian carriers at least €300, the Association of International Motor Carriers says. At the same time, if the Polish authorities do not resolve the border blocking issue, it will force the EC to initiate punitive proceedings against Poland. After all, the Polish authorities must ensure the flow of goods from Ukraine through the corridors of solidarity, particularly the free movement of trucks. The EC is considering whether this constitutes a violation by the Polish authorities of the EU regulation on the liberalization of trade with Ukraine (transport visa-free, which is valid until June 30, 2024). However, negotiations are ongoing with all parties in the conflict. So far, the EC’s official position is that the restoration of the system of permits or quotas for road transport is not legally possible, as it is incompatible with the Agreement on road transport between Ukraine and the EU. It is worth noting that this year, 11.5 million tons of goods were exported from Ukraine (61% through Poland), and 13.8 million tons of goods were imported (42%).
Another threat to Ukrainian land exports: five Eastern European countries demand that Brussels revises the transport agreement with Ukraine. On November 20, members of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania will send a joint letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with a call to review the agreement, which provides for the liberalization of road traffic with Ukraine, writes Bloomberg. According to the trucking union, the current agreement expires in June 2024, which "seriously distorts the market and causes irreversible damage to Hungarian and EU carriers. Some IRU members will also send letters to their governments. The freight carriers want this deal canceled or, at the very least, not extended. This will make it possible to return to the implementation of bilateral agreements between individual EU countries and Ukraine. The European Commission has emphasized that re-introducing permits or quotas for road transport from Ukraine is legally impossible, as it would violate the current agreement between the EU and Kyiv.
9.1.4 Construction & Real estate sector news
Beginning January 1, 2024, legal entities, i.e., holdings that currently rent land, will be able to buy agricultural land. However, the Minister of Agrarian Policy, Mykola Solsky, believes that the price of land will not rise immediately. He is sure that nothing will change in the land market after legal entities can buy agricultural land. According to the reform, legal entities will have certain limits when purchasing land: a legal entity cannot acquire more than 10,000
98 UKRAINE Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com