•Ukraine will introduce European cargo transit rules as part of systemic customs reform, according to a post on the Finance Ministry website, multiple sources reported. Ukraine's participation in the common transit regime would make guarantees issued by Ukrainian banks valid in the confines of all parties to the convention and remove the necessity of declaring exported goods at the EU border because that will be done in Ukraine.

•China's CNBM International Corp. is weighing a court challenge of the decision by the Rada to cut the feed-in tariff for large solar power plants, company Chairman Jinsong Zhang told Interfax Ukraine. The company said the payback period of CNBM's solar power plants sharply increased because of the Rada decision. He believes it is discriminatory toward Chinese investment and sends a bad signal to investors overall.

•The revenue target in Ukraine's 2017 national budget is $27 billion, of which about $25 billion is designated for the general fund, Interfax Ukraine reported. That is 20.3 percent and 17.1 percent more, respectively, than the revenue target for 2016.

•Italian flagship air carrier Alitalia intends to resume flights between Rome and Kyiv starting May 2, multiple sources reported. Passengers will depart at 11 p.m. from Rome Fiumicino Airport and at 5 a.m. from Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany). The flight duration is about three hours. In other airline news, Yanair is looking to expand its service from various Ukrainian cities to Tel Aviv.

•As of the end of 2016, 277 Ukrainian agricultural businesses are working in the European market, an increase of 39 from 2015, Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Taras Kutovyi said, according to multiple sources. He said foreign market penetration for Ukrainian agricultural producers is expected to increase thanks to an increase in organic food production output.

•Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelian said Ukraine could attract large amounts of investment thanks to the expected arrival of major global port operators such as Hutchison Ports and DP World, Ukrinform reported. Omelian said Hutchison specialists have already evaluated the port's capacity, logistics and cargo traffic.

•Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry is now in talks with two investors, both Western companies, that are ready to build the first section of toll road in Ukraine, Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelian was quoted by various sources as saying. Omelian also said that in 2017, the Infrastructure Ministry plans to allocate up to $112 million to restore bridges across the country.

•Budget subsidies to support Ukrainian farming will be distributed proportionally to the cost of agricultural products that farmers sold, Interfax Ukraine reported. About $11 million is envisioned for the program to compensate credit rates to farmers, including support for cattle breeding, hop growing, and new orchards, vineyards and berry fields.

•Pork production increased 4 percent year over year during the first 11 months of 2016, Ukrinform reported, citing the Ukrainian Pig Breeders' Association.

•Ukraine boosted production and exports of corn starch in November by 60 percent year over year, according to UkrAgroConsult, Unian reported.

For comments and news tips, please email UBJ AM editor David Edwards at david.edwards@theubj.com.