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As Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Wednesday, the Government’s “ambitious” task was restoring the country’s connectivity and transit function. He also highlighted the importance of deepening trade and economic ties with Kazakhstan as part of the effort.
A range of projects aimed at enhancing economic cooperation had been discussed during his meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Oljas Bektenov earlier today.
Kazakh government’s “firm decision” to enhance regional connectivity and “systematically” improve its infrastructure and conditions was also expressed and Georgia’s “significant” role in this process was emphasized during the meeting.
Satisfaction with the “active” cooperation between the two countries in developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was expressed.
As Bektenov said, cargo traffic along this corridor has increased by 62 percent, reaching 4.5 million tonnes, over the past year.
He added that both countries serve as vital links in transcontinental transport corridors, offering efficient routes that connect Europe to China and Southeast Asia.
NH Logistics GEO has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Georgia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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Ukrainian Agrarian Council’s First Ukrainian Agricultural Cooperative report that sugar prices on the domestic market may increase due to the resumption of sugar exports from Ukraine to the European Union.
According to analysts, new trade liberalization agreements will give Ukrainian producers access to the EU market from January 1, 2025. It means that Ukraine will be able to export larger quantities of sugar to the European market without having to pay additional fees, which previously held back exports growth.
Analysts say that the opening of the EU market is an important event for our industry. Ukraine is only starting to conclude contracts on exports to Europe, but the pace of this work is expected to be picked up as soon as February-March. Ukrainian sugar has been actively exported to Turkey and African countries in January, but the European market is gradually becoming more important.
As analysts said, they sell sugar in Ukraine at a relatively stable price of UAH 23,000-24,500 per tonne, but seasonal factors and exports growth could make it gradually increase in the near future.
According to the analysts, there is a usual period of seasonal increase in sugar prices in January-May. The prices will obviously start to increase, as the current level of prices is one of the lowest. The dynamics will also be contributed by the opening of the European market.
NH Logistics UKR has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Ukraine and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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According to Ukrainian media, a highly probable increase in imports caused by the disparity of prices for Ukrainian and European products may deprive Ukrainian cheesemakers of a substantial part of the domestic market.
The problem can be solved by lowering prices for Ukrainian cheese or a substantial devaluation of the hryvnia. The second way seems to be more realistic.
Overall, in 2024, imports of rennet cheeses grew up by 11% to 29,000 tonnes. An increase by 14% year-on-year to 4,600 tonnes was shown by purchases of processed cheeses in 2024 (a 25 percent decrease compared to 2021).
Simultaneously, the export of semi-hard cheeses increased by 9% to almost 7,000 tonnes in 2024. Exports of processed cheeses (together with the curd product) equaled to 4,200 tonnes ( a decreased by 4%).
The agency said that local cheesemakers need to prevent imports from becoming as significant as they were in 2021, when a large number of consumers maintained balance. Now it is simply impossible to compete with European goods by price in foreign or post-Soviet markets.

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Mihailo Jovanović, Director of the Office for IT and eGovernment reported that the total export of information and communication technology (ICT) services from Serbia for the period January to November 2024 surpassed the record set during the same period in 2023 and attained €3.712 billion.
Jovanović stated that the total export of ICT services has already exceeded the previous record year, 2023, in January- November 2024, while exports reached €3.44 billion, showing a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2023 and totally attaining €3.712 billion in the first eleven months of 2024. The projection that the figure of €4 billion will have been surpassed by the end of 2024 is supported by this data.
The announcement says that in November 2024 ICT service exports reached €371 million (a 20% increase compared to November 2023). In January – November 2024 the surplus in ICT services attained €2.916 billion.
NH Logistics SER has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Serbia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko told Robert Maersk Uggla, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Danish transport and logistics company A.P. Moeller-Maersk, at a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, that Ukraine is planning to step up privatization and resume public-private partnerships, including concession projects at several ports.
Ukrainian media cited a statement posted by Sviridenko on a social network after the meeting claiming that the initiatives were aimed at upgrading transport infrastructure and improving trade logistics. The Minister also mentioned the invitation of Maersk to explore and support these options.
According to Sviridenko, investments in Ukraine’s transport sector had also been discussed.
One of the pre-crisis projects was a 35-year concession of Olvia port assets by Qatari QTerminals Olvia in December 2021. They estimated company’s investment at UAH 3.4 billion, and UAH 80 million was also supposed to be invested by the company in the construction of a tunnel under a rail line in the Korabelny district in Nikolayev.
As Former Deputy Prime Minster, Minister for Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Alexander Kubrakov said at Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 in London, interest in concession projects at the Chernomorsk seaport had been shown by five big companies.
NH Logistics UKR has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Ukraine and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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As Vakhtang Tsintsadze, the Deputy Economy Minister of Georgia, said on Monday, “record” figures in both exports and imports, contributing to similarly high external trade turnover numbers, were achieved in 2024.
He emphasised on the programmes aimed at boosting the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises and fostering local production implemented by the Government.
The growth of economic activity is anticipated, the overall economic landscape is expected to be enhanced and incomes of the population to be improved in the coming years.
According to The National Statistics Office, today the country’s external trade turnover achieved $23.42 billion last year (an eight percent year-on-year increase), exports grew up by 7.8 percent ($6.56 billion), while imports increased by 8.1 percent ($16.86 billion in total).
NH Logistics GEO has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Georgia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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A third direct air route to China has been recently added by Serbian national carrier Air Serbia.
Now there are direct flights from Belgrade to Guangzhou, Tianjin and Shanghai.
Air Serbia’s Chief Executive Officer Jiri Marek came to Shanghai with the first flight on January 11 and visited the headquarters of Chinese online travel agency Trip.Com Group. There is a mutual visa exemption agreement for tourists between the two countries since 2016.
Both countries eliminated tariffs on 90 percent of the goods imported from each other according to the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement that came into effect last July.
As Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said during Air Serbia’s Belgrade-Shanghai inaugural flight ceremony on Jan. 10, bilateral trade between China and Serbia almost achieved EUR7 billion (USD7.2 billion) last year. Serbia accepted nearly 147,000 Chinese tourists in the period.
From Chinese part, Hainan Airlines has launched flights from Beijing to Belgrade since July 2022, and China Southern Airlines launched direct flights on the Guangzhou – Belgrade route last September.
China’s international flight network layout has tended towards countries along the Belt and Road Initiative after the Covid-19 pandemic. 178 airlines have been approved to fly between China and 79 countries by the Civil Aviation Administration of China this winter-spring season. 57 of them were BRI countries (10,326 weekly flights or 53 percent of the total).
NH Logistics SER has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Serbia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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Data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia report that China was the largest Serbia’s import partner in 2024 (USD 481.6 million), and Germany was its largest export partner (USD 363.6 million).
60% of Serbia’s total trade in goods the EU were accounted for in 2023. The Statistical Office reports that in spite of increase of Serbia’s foreign trade in goods by 3.9% in January- September 2024, the trade deficit grew up by 20.4% compared to the same period last year. The deficit with China attained USD 316.5 million, with Germany -USD 89.6 million. Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Italy and Romania are the most important foreign trade partners in exports in September 2024, while China, Germany, Italy, Turkey and Poland are the most important partners in imports.
About 60% of goods are exempted from customs duties according to a Free Trade Agreement signed by Serbia with China on July 1, 2024. Nevertheless, Serbia is still not included in Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Serbia can carry out financial transactions with the EU easily, but it can’t get commission costs reduced. As the National Bank of Serbia says, that the process of harmonizing domestic banking systems with SEPA standards has been underway since 2014, and they are only waiting for the green light from the European Union. According to Bloomberg, Serbia’s entry into SEPA could take up to two months compared to the originally planned deadline – January 1, 2025.
As the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia states in the December edition of MAT (Macroeconomic Analysis and Trends), Serbia has found an alternative to subdued demand from the EU this year in the markets of China and Turkey and achieved a 1.9% growth in goods exports.
The same data show an increase of exports by 65% to China and by 80% to Turkey from September 2023 to September 2024.
As the EU states for You website, four billion euros in grants and seven billion euros in soft loans have been invested by the European Union in the last ten years. Contraversely, data from the National Bank of Serbia show that China invested EUR 5.5 billion in the period from 2010 to 2023.
The 15 largest exporters from Serbia in 2023 had the export value of seven billion euros. Bloomberg reports that Chinese companies that sell copper, gold and steel on foreign markets (China Railway International Co Ltd, China Communications Construction Company Ltd., Linglong International) achieved a third of that amount.
NH Logistics SER has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Serbia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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According to press service for the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry and the State Customs Service, 21.256 million tonnes of grains and grain legumes have been exported by Ukraine since the beginning of the 2024-2025 marketing year (July 2024-June 2025), and 2.882 million tonnes of them were shipped since the beginning of December.
Last year, the overall amount of shipments attained 17.484 million tonnes and 4.387 million tonnes in December 2023.
Ukraine has exported 9.613 million tonnes of wheat since the beginning of the current season, compared to 7.255 million tonnes in the 2023-2024 marketing year, as well as 1.968 million tonnes of barley (991,000 tonnes), 10,800 tonnes of rye (1,000 tonnes), and 9.351 million tonnes of corn (9.097 million tonnes).
They estimated the total export of Ukrainian flour at 37,000 tonnes since the beginning of the season (57,000 tonnes in the 2023-2024 marketing year), including 33,900 tonnes of wheat flour (54.200 tonnes).
NH Logistics UKR has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Ukraine and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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According to amendments to the law on road traffic that come into force this month, subjecting vehicles in the M2, M3, N1, N2, N3, O3, and O4 categories to inspection, they will conduct roadside inspections for carriers in designated roadside zones in Georgia starting from this year.
Administrative fines ranging from ₾500 ($177) to ₾5,000 ($1,779), depending on the severity of the offence, will be charged for violations identified during inspections.
Compliance with the rules for transporting dangerous goods, the driver’s work and rest regime and the use of the electronic card of the control device – tachograph, technical condition of the vehicle, and compliance with the rules for securing cargo to the body will be included in the inspections.
Inspectors will also check the compliance with the rules for using the relevant permit document related to international road transport and transportation, compliance with the rules for installing and calibrating the control device and speed limiter and mass and dimensions of the vehicle.
Inspections will be carried out by the Land Transport Agency, while a Government decree will determine the rules for road inspections in the roadside zones.
NH Logistics GEO has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Georgia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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