Daily monitor

According to a note from the Ministry of Finance, the state budget showed a UAH 2.7 bln (USD 35.4 mln) deficit in January-May 2009. Specifically, in May alone the deficit grew by only 0.4%.

Ukraine exported 24.7 mln mt of grain in the 2008/09 marketing year. In particular, Ukraine exported 12.6 mln mt of wheat, 6.3 mln mt of barley and 5.4 mlm mt of corn. Earlier, Mr. Melnik, the Minister of Agriculture, estimated Ukraine’s exports at 25 – 26 mln mt of grain in the 2008/09 marketing year.

According to a note released by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, the country’s GDP fell 20.3% YoY in 1Q09.

The EBRD will consider an injection of EUR 30 mln into Milkiland at its Board of directors meeting on July 28, 2009. The EBRD would do so through the purchase of a stake in the company. Milkiland will use the funds for further modernization and for restructuring the company’s liabilities.

As of June 30, 2009, Ukraine harvested a total 1.5 mln mt of grain with an average yield of 2.46 mt per ha (-6.8% YoY). According to a press release posted by the State Statistics Committee, farmers in Crimea as well as Odesa, Mykolayiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Poltava, Kirovograd, Zaporizhzhya and Kyiv Regions have started their harvesting campaign.

The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) has once again postponed the privatisation auction for a 25% state stake in Ukrainian regional power distributing company Poltavaoblenergo [POON UZ, BUY], this time from July 1, 2009 to July 8, 2009.

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has suggested to the country’s parliament that it confirm a proposal to use the troubled banks recap scheme as a model for Naftogaz’ recapitalization.

According to a press release from Prominvestbank (PIB) – one of the largest banks in Ukraine and controlled by Russia’s Vnesheconombank – the bank has opened a USD 39 mln. one-year credit line for Zaporizhtransformator [ZATR UZ, N/R] –the largest power transformer producer in the CIS. The credit line will be used to raise the company’s working capital.

According to a note from the State Statistics Committee, the average real salary has fallen 9.1% YoY, while the nominal figure has grown 4.3% YoY and 0.3% MoM, reaching UAH 1851 (USD 243).

The National Energy Regulating Commission of Ukraine (NERC) did not change the power tariffs for end-users for July 2009.