• China has invested more than $7 billion in the development of agricultural, energy and infrastructure industries in Ukraine. Mr. Liu Jun, adviser on economic and commercial issues of the Embassy of People's Republic of China in Ukraine, revealed this figure during the China-Ukraine Business Forum, Ukrinform reported.

• The economic cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Ukraine will benefit both countries, Xinhua reported. Viktor Dovgan, Deputy Infrastructure Minister, said that Ukraine can become a gate for China's Silk Road to Europe.

• Trade turnover between Ukraine and Belarus in the two months of 2017 jumped by 40%, President Petro Poroshenko has said. He has agreed with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to simplify the border crossing regime.

• Andrey Kobolev, Executive Director of Naftogaz of Ukraine, and Rick Perry, US Secretary of Energy, discussed in Washington possible American exports of coal to Ukraine, the press office of Naftogaz reported. Perry also expressed interest in cooperation for exploration, production and transportation of natural gas and coal.

• Thanks to record corn sales, Ukraine boosted its grain exports to 4.54 million metric tons in March, up 52 percent from 2.98 million tons in February, UkrAgroConsult reported.

• In July 2016 – March 2017 marketing year, Ukraine nearly doubles exports of peas to the EU. Ukraine sold 11.9 thousand metric tons of peas to EU countries, an increase of 96% compared with the same period last season, finchannel.com reported.

• Ukrainian sugar producer and farmer Astarta reported its sugar sales surged 115% yoy in 1Q17. The average sugar price increased by 11%.

• According to an annual report of Imperial Tobacco Production Ukraine, sales of cigarettes in 2016 decreased by 15 percent, to 14.406 billion units in comparison with 2015.

• The UBC Group of Kharkiv, a commercial and industrial holding specializing in refrigeration appliances, will launch this fall the first stage of a refrigerator plant in Vinnytsia.

• The Government promises to take steps to increase the effectiveness of ministries within the framework of the state administration reform, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said at a government meeting.

For comments and news tips, please email UBJ AM editor Vitalii Dubenskyi at vitalii.dubenskyi@theubj.com