Many consumers admit that going back to shopping at food markets gave them a chance not only to save the depreciated hryvnyas but also taste the difference of mass-produced veggies and those grown by babushkas in the villages near big cities.

In fact, about one third of Ukrainians are not urban according official statistics. This makes a very big difference especially now when food crisis is discussed in the Western mass media. Ukraine is not likely to face any food crisis given the intensity of private farming for family+ needs which can help sustaining the Ukrainian urban population despite the financial crisis trimming the sowing areas around Europe.

The reverse side of the Ukrainian financial crisis is a higher level of self-sustainability (growing some basic veggies in the small land plots of dacha‘s) and limiting of the dependency on traditional supply chains such as supermarkets which tend, in their turn, to buy from large scale agricultural producers utilizing conventional [chemical] means of crops cultivation.

As a result, Ukrainian are becoming more considerate of the actual difference in the taste and quality of natural organic foods against the conventional mass-produced and, in fact, more expensive vegetables and fruits.

The international experience prooves that sustainable organic agriculture is 25-35% more efficient than conventional chemical farming methods while long-term effect of the organic technologies result in preserving and improving the natural qualities of soil.

For Ukraine, boasting over 30% of most fertile black soils, sustainable organic agriculture is a real opportunity to gain and retain the European leadership in organic foods production.

The Federation of Organic Agriculture of Ukraine is the NGO which has been the ultimate source of lobbying during the past 10 years for the Organic Production Law which will set clear rules and provide additional incentives to Ukrainian agricultural producers.

With over 300,000 hectares of Ukrainian fields organically certified in 2008, the agricultural sector of Ukraine is in a great comepetative advantage position. At the same time, the pressure, due to the increased prices of the imported agrichemicals, will make many farmers reconsider the technologies and choose for the organics.

The natural evolution of the Ukrainian market towards sustainable technolgies in agriculture will enable the growing number of organic farms gain loyal customer base and thus financial stability which will let them expand the operations in the coming years much faster compared to the farms practicing conventional methods and thus dependant on the imported ingridients.

The Ukrainian Rail monopoly UkrZaliznytsya has been checked by the State Audit Department amid the monopoly’s announced plan to gradually increase prices for train tickets and cargo rail services. The first increase of 5% came effective as of 1st June this year. UkrZaliznytsya claimed it was loosing money due to its democratic tickets pricing.

The results of the State Audit Department showed that the money lost by UkrZaliznytsya was not due to low ticket prices. Numerous facts of embezzlement and mismanagement of the company have now been reveled. One of the major?  facts of embezzlement was related to financial reports produced by Ernst & Young.

Ernst & Young Ukraine is one of the four major global audit companies and it has been operating in Ukraine since 1991.

Investment Consulting business in Ukraine has grown rapidly in the past few years with more CFA’s, MBA’s and LLM’s leading professional teams of financial analysts and commercial lawyers and providing ground market research, feasibility and due diligence studie. A profile of a Ukrainian-native Investment consultant would normally include a Western business education diploma, few years of financial, industry or legal experience in Ukraine, as well as abroad including Russia, a wide networking base within Ukrainian commercial and official offices and a solid reputation in the market.

InvestUkraine is launching its independent research of Investment consulting companies in Ukraine to provide a better preview of the leading investment consultants with their possible specializations by industry or geographic region.

If you represent an Investment consulting company and would like to participate in our research, do not hesitate to contact us before May 1st, 2008 in order to participate in the listing.

If you are an investor considering investment consultants in Ukraine and would like to receive pre-publication sneak preview, you are welcome to contact us anytime.

1. Alta Capital: Investment consulting
2. Alta Fund: Private equity investment in Ukrainian real estate
3. Alta Industrial: Representation of top-flight producers of building materials and concrete; manufacture of engineering palettes
4. Alta Exclusive: Construction of luxury mahogany yachts of prime quality custom projects
5. Alta Securities: Providing of access to the leading trade houses worldwide
6. Alta Event: Event management
7. WhereToStay.In.UA: Managing of top class apartments in Kiev