Daily monitor

Today, the Cabinet of Ministers will consider the volume of quotas agreed upon with the grain traders. Quotas for export are expected to be at a level of 1 mln tonnes for barley and 1.5 mln tonnes for wheat. Additionally, 1 mln tonnes of grain that are already located in ports will be exported. It is expected that these quotas will not affect maize export.

Industrial output in July 2010 increased by 6.4% yoy. Growth of 7M10 equals 11.1% yoy growth.

According to preliminary data, the real GDP of Ukraine grew by 6% in 2Q10.

The positive balance of Ukraine’s current account grew to USD 400 mln in 1H10, compared to its negative USD 479.5 mln balance in 1H09. Export of goods grew by 33.5%, imports by 29.6%. Export of services increased by 20.5%, while imports dropped by 1.5%.

The Ministry of Fuel and Energy reported that Ukrnafta’s oil and gas condensate output was down 13% y/y in July, while in monthly terms its output grew by 2%. On a broader scale, Ukrnafta performed worse than the sector, which decreased its oil and gas condensate production by 11% y/y in July 2010.

Landkom International PLC [LKI LN, U/R], a Ukrainian producer of agricultural commodities, announced the results of its rapeseed harvest. As of August 15, about 14.6 thsd ha were processed and approximately 39.5 thsd tonnes of rapeseed were harvested, for an average yield of 2.71 tonnes per ha. Approximately 63% of the winter and spring wheat has been harvested, so the results will be published in mid-September.

The state railway transport administration of Ukraine, Ukrzaliznytsya, plans to purchase 10 new high-speed electric trains by the end of 2011. New trains will have a speed of 160 km/h—double the speed of electric trains used currently—and will be used on high-speed portions of rail routes. The Kryukivka Train Car Building Plant [KVBZ UZ] will produce the high-speed electric trains. Meanwhile, South Western Railway plans to order 26 passenger cars from the company.

Mariupol Illich ISW [MMKI UK], third largest steelmaker in Ukraine, is going to shift from importing iron ore pellets from Russian producers to supplies from Pivnichnyi GOK [PGOK UK], Metall Courier reported.

During January-June 2010, the Stakhanov Train Car Building Plant [SVGZ UZ] increased its output 9.5 times YoY to 3.6 thsd train cars. Company sales reached USD 162 mln, increasing 11.5 times YoY. Gondola cars remain the company’s best seller with a production share of 92% of the total units. Hopper cars make up the remaining 8%.

Agricultural companies of Ukraine harvested slightly more than 28 mln tonnes of grain and leguminous crops as of August 11, with an average yield of 2.49 tonne per ha. Agricultural companies processed a sowing area of only 11.3 mln ha.