Odesa Region

The coastline position of the region on the international border is economically important. The wide outlet into the basin of the Azov and the Black Seas and into large rivers (the Danube, the Don, the Dnieper, and the Dniester) defines the advantages and transportation means. The effective sea and river waterways allow the economic relations to extend to Eastern and Central Europe (via the river Danube). Odessa sea port and other ports of the region are situated at the junction of intensive international sea and river transport connections; this defines a great distribution potential of the ports. On the left bank of the lower Danube and in the valley between the Kiliyskiy branch and the Dniester estuary, there are situated freshwater lakes Kagul, Yalpug, Katlabuh, and the salt lakes – Sassyk, Alibey, Burnas, Budatskos, Shagani; in the eastern part, there are salt estuaries Khadjibeevskiy, Kuyalnitskiy famous for their curative muds.

Odessa region is located in the far Southwest of Ukraine and borders on Vinnitsa, Kirovograd, and Nikolaev regions, as well as on the countries of Moldova and Romania. The region occupies the territory on the Northwest Black Sea coast, from the river Danube delta to the Tiligoulskiy estuary (300 kilometres of coastline), and 200-250 kilometres from the Black Sea to the north. Odessa region is largest in Ukraine: its total area is 33,300 square kilometres (an approximate size of Belgium or the Netherlands) which is about 5.5% of Ukraine's territory. The capital city of the region is Odessa, situated on terraced hills overlooking Odessa Bay, an inlet of the Black Sea that forms a natural harbour. The city is among the largest ones in Ukraine; it serves as the southern gateway of the state. It is an important agricultural, transportation, industrial, scientific, cultural, and resort centre, with a population of 1,022,000 (January the 1st, 2003).

Climate
The northern part of the region is situated in a forest-steppe zone; the southern part is in a steppe zone. The average annual temperature varies from +8.2°C (+46.8°F) in the north to +10.8°C (+51.4°F) in the south. The vegetation season lasts 180 to 210 days. The average annual amount of precipitation varies from 340 millimetres in the south to 460 millimetres in the north.

The city of Odessa has a relatively warm, dry climate, with January temperatures averaging -2°C (28.4°F) and July temperatures, 22°C (71.6°F). Annual precipitation totals 351 mm. The moderate climate and coastal lagoons nearby have given rise to beach resorts famous for therapeutic mud baths.

Odessa's reputation as a health resort dates back to the 1920's. Therapeutic ingredients in the muds along with the mild climate and beautiful beaches attracted vacationers and patients seeking a cure from various ailments: from arthritis to tuberculosis to skin disorders.

Today numerous resorts, beauty spas, and sanatoriums dot a 50-mile stretch of coast from the village of Fontanka north of Odessa to Lebedivka to the south. They attract hundreds of thousands of vacationers and medical patients yearly who seek health and beauty in hydro and mud treatments.

Natural Resources
Distinctive features of the regional natural resources are the favourable climate, the sea, curative mud and salted water of the estuaries, sand beaches, and mineral water springs. Along with historical and cultural monuments, these resources form a great and diversified recreational and spa resort potential.

Minerals discovered in the region and attracting practical interest today are used as raw materials for construction. Mining of sea sands, sandstone-shell mixture for industrial use, construction and agriculture is carried out on the Black Sea shelf.

Odessa region employs intensive steppe agriculture and developed irrigation network. The natural conditions are favourable for cultivation of winter wheat, corn, barley, soy, millet, and sunflowers.

Gas. Natural gas is not mined on the territory of Odessa region. It is estimated that the Black Sea holds some gas reserves. However, the quantity is expected to be relatively small and the economic viability of mining has not been proven.

Oil. There are no oil reserves in the vicinity of Odessa region. Crude oil supplied mainly from Russia is processed at the Odessa oil refinery. This dependency on Russia was strengthened in March 1999, with Luk-Syntez Oil Ltd. winning the privatisation tender for 51.9 percent of shares of stock in the joint-stock company Odessa Oil Refinery. Russian companies Lukoil and Syntez Oil are founders of company Luk-Syntez Oil, and thus have their interest in the Odessa refinery. The management of its 96% stake in the refinery returns to Luk-Syntez Oil.

Coal. Coal reserves are insignificant in Odessa region. There are no coal mines on its territory; all coal is imported from other regions. The supply of coal, coal products, and other kinds of solid fuel such as wood is performed by Oblpalivo, a public company owned by the Odessa Regional State Administration. Supply is based on regional limits set jointly by the Administration and Oblpalivo.

Water Supply. There is shortage of water in Odessa region due to the natural conditions: the region has very limited underground and surface water sources. The nearest major river to Odessa is the Dniester, some 30 km from Odessa. The river is the source of water for the city and a number of communities nearby. The source of the Dniester river is on the northern slope of the Carpathian mountains, some 1,220 km from the point at which the river discharges to the Black Sea, through a liman (a brackish lake formed by a river estuary which has become impartially landlocked by a sand bar) located 37 km to the west of Odessa.

HISTORY AND CULTURE

The history of Odessa is deplete with numerous historical events, which are captured in the names of the city's 1400 streets, squares, prospects, boulevards, and historical and cultural monuments.

Numerous monuments of antiquity confirm the links between this territory and the Eastern Mediterranean. In the middle ages, these lands were, successively, a part of the Kiev Rus, Galich and Volyn Principality, the Golden Horde, the Great Lithuanian Principality, the Crimean Khanate and the Osman Empire. In the course of Russian-Turkish wars these lands were captured by Russia at the end of the 18th century.

Tsar Peter the Great opened a ‘window’ to the West for Russia when he built St. Petersburg in the swamps bordering on the Baltic Sea. Catherine the Great wanted a window to the South. In 1764 the Empress formed the territories newly acquired in the southwest of her empire into a province called Novorossiya.

In the war of 1787-91, Don Josef de Ribas, a soldier of fortune born in Naples of Spanish and Irish stock and one of many adventures in Catherine’s service, stormed the fortress of Yeny-Dunai at Khadzhibei. Catherine the Great apparently considered making the port of Ochakov, near the mouth of the Boh river, the effective capital of Novorossiya. But Ochakov lacked a good natural harbour. On the other hand, de Ribas and a close collaborator, a Dutch engineer named Franz de Volan, recommended Khadzhibei as the site of the region’s principal port. Its harbour was deep and nearly ice-free. Breakwaters, on the model of those found at Naples, Livorno and Ancona, could be cheaply constructed and would render the harbour safe even for large fleets.

In 1794, Catherine gave her approval for de Ribas and de Volan to build a harbour. This new settlement was given the name of Odessa. The city name came about as a result of an error. It was meant to be named after the ancient Greek city of Odessos or Ordissos, which was believed to have been founded in the vicinity. Actually, it was somewhere near the present day town of Varna in Bulgaria. But Catherine the Great liked "Adyessa" – as it is pronounced by the Russians and Ukrainians.

The unique position of Odessa – a vital trade link between the West and the East, and the growth in importance of Russia’s external trade through the Black Sea in the 19th century made way for the establishment of a big trade port centre and the development of Odessa into an advanced European city. A crucial event in the trade policy was the declaration of a free port regime in Odessa in August 1819, establishing a customs border in the vicinity. It was aimed at overcoming scarcity in the domestic market, by the attraction of investment capital. It was also done because of the absence of Russia’s trade fleet in the Black Sea.

During the free port period in Odessa (1819-1858) there was a huge discussion between supporters and opponents of the privileged tax regime. Free trade influenced negatively the development of manufacturing in the region. Local products could not compete in quality with goods from overseas.

Odessa grew rapidly, especially in the latter half of the 19th century, when railroad construction in the southern Ukraine made it Russia's principal port for grain exports. Within a short period of time the city, with its beautiful harbour on the Black Sea, has become "Ukraine's southern window to Europe".

By its hundredth anniversary (1894), Odessa occupied the 4th place in the Russian Empire in size and economic power – after Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and Warsaw. Odessa inhibitors were noted for their wonderful spirit of freedom, which allowed them to achieve great success in the field of science, education and the arts.

Odessa’s cosmopolitan atmosphere can be attributed to its importance as one of the major foreign trade ports and fishing fleet bases of the region, with traffic to and from the countries of the Mediterranean basin, Africa, Middle East, and Asia. The city’s dependence on the industrialised waterfront gives it a large blue-collar population as well as a reputation of a place where you can buy anything.

A diversified manufacturing centre, Odessa produces a wide range of machinery and equipment, as well as chemicals. Shipyards and an oil refinery are important to the economy. Food processing in flour mills, stockyards, canneries, and sugar refineries is developed due to the proximity to rich Ukrainian farmlands.

Odessa is a leading educational centre, the seat of Odessa State University (founded in 1865), Odessa State Polytechnic University (founded in 1918) and a number of specialised higher education institutions. The Ukraine Experimental Institute for Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy is also situated in Odessa.

Odessa is renowned for its artistic and cultural life. The city has an Opera and Ballet Theatre (claimed among the world-best architectural monuments), a philharmonic hall, numerous museums and theatres, a public library, and an astronomical observatory. Odessa is the site of the oldest cinema studio in the former Soviet Union. The city has been a centre for publishing numerous literary works.

ODESSA AND THE WORLD

Among the great cities of the world, Odessa can claim certain distinctions. One of the major cities of contemporary Europe, Odessa, officially founded in 1794, is among the youngest. No other European city can match its growth rate in the 19th century. It also developed in an area of the continent that has an ancient tradition of trade and a long, though discontinuous, history of urban settlement.

Odessa is a city of contrasts. Its stately 19th century classical architecture is set on orderly planned streets that are surrounded with green space, giving the city an air of elegance. Strikingly ornate buildings of the late 19th and early 20th century are reminiscent of Right Bank Paris. It is also a seaport with boardwalks and bathing beaches, a resort city with health spas. With its balmy climate, seaside vistas and sandy beaches, and year round lively street life, Odessa has an ambience more Mediterranean than Slavic. Odessa is a member of the World Federation of Twinned Cities. Of all Ukrainian cities, it has been twinned with the greatest number of cities around the world (17): Alexandria (Egypt), Baltimore (USA), Calcutta (India), Genoa (Italy), Haifa (Israel), Liverpool (Great Britain), Marseilles (France), Oulu (Finland), Tripoli (Libya), Valencia (Spain), Vancouver (Canada), Yokohama (Japan) and others.

Odessa is constantly hosting exhibits, symposia, and conferences. It is the site of consulates and trade commissions of many countries, and dozens of branches of friendship and cultural exchange societies are active in the city.

Many roads lead to Odessa, for this city is hospitable, cheerful, and picturesque. Every year many tourists visit Odessa, attracted by its boulevards and Potyomkinsky stairs, beautiful beaches, numerous new structures and the unusual architecture of old Odessa.

POPULATION

Odessa region consists of 26 rural districts, with 19 cities, 33 towns, and 1,139 villages. On January 1, 2003, the population was 2,448,200 inhabitants.

Odessa region has a much more mixed population in terms of nationality, compared to other regions in Ukraine. 133 nationalities reside here, and non-Ukrainian inhabitants make up more than 37% of the regional population. The main national groups are: Ukrainians (62.8%), Russians (20.7%), Bulgarians (6.1%), Moldovians (5.0%), Jews (0.6%), Gagausians (1.1%), Belorussians (0.5%), Poles (0.1%), Armenians (0.3%), Gypsies (0.2%), Tatars (0.1%), and Germans (0.1%). The greatest diversity in the national composition is observed in the South-Western part of the region between the Dniester and the Danube, where only 40.2% are Ukrainians.

ECONOMY AND INVESTMENT POLICY

The Odessa Region is considered as one of the most advanced regions of Ukraine obtaining foreign investments of different kinds; the total sum of the above mentioned investments is US $ 325.7 millions, the main part of this sum are the direct foreign investments – US $ 289.3 millions (88.8 % of total value), which are invested into 562 regional enterprises.

Portfolio investments (35 enterprises) are US $ 5 millions (1.5 %), other foreign investments (14enterprises) are provided as financial leasing, cash currency short, and long-term loans – US $ 31.4 millions (9.7 %).

79 enterprises of Odessa Region obtained in 2002 investments of sum US $ 91.1 millions. It makes 1.6 times more as compared in 2001. Simultaneously US $ 29.6 millions have been taken off.

In general the value of foreign investments to the regional economics increased in 2002 by US $ 61.5 millions; it makes 1.8 more as compared with 2001 (US $ 33.5 millions). The main methods of making investments in 2002 were equipment and real estate (US $ 27.3 million) plus finance payments (US $ 36.5 millions).

Today the founders of regional foreign investment enterprises are companies from 63 foreign countries. The leading position of foreign direct investments to regional economy hold Virgin Irelands (Great Britain) – US $ 62.4 millions (it makes 21.6 % of total direct investments), the USA – US $ 49 millions (16.9 %), Cyprus – US $30.6 millions (10.6 %), United Kingdom – US $ 21 million (7.3 %), Switzerland – US $16.4millions (5.7 %), Greece – US $ 13.2 million (4.6 %).

The main investors to the regional economy in 2002 were entrepreneurs from Cyprus – US $14.3 millions, Virgin Irelands (Great Britain) – US $ 13.2 millions, the USA – US $6.2millions, Switzerland – US $ 3.8 millions, Lebanon – US $ 3 millions, United Kingdom – US $ 1.9 millions, Hungary – US $ 1.5 millions, Netherlands – US $ 1.3 millions, Turkey – US $0.9millions, Israel – US $ 0.7 millions.

Food and food processing industry US $ 6.2 millions, trade – US $ 5.6 millions, transport facilities, cargo reloading in regional ports – US $ 13.7 millions, finance consulting and other commercial services – US $ 5.6 millions, construction and real estate activities US $ 0.4 millions, industry (without food industry) – US $ 4.6 millions, oil refinery US $ 9.1 millions.

Free Economic Zones
There are two free economic zones in Odessa region: “Porto-Franco” and “Reni”. Below is a short description of the zones. For more information about activity in the zones, interested parties should contact local government departments and agencies or local consulting and law firms.

SPECIAL (FREE) ECONOMIC ZONE “PORTO-FRANCO”

Location, area: Odessa, 32,5 hectares
Term of action: 25 years
Effective from: January 1, 2000

Legal basis: laws of Ukraine no. 1607 of march 23, 2000 “on special economic zone “Porto-Franco” in the territory of the Odessa sea commercial port” and no. 1608 of march 23, 2000 “on amendments o some legislative acts of Ukraine on taxation in connection with creation of special (free) economic zone “free port” in the territory of the Odessa sea commercial port”.

Priority types of economic activity: servicing of transits, their storage, grading and assortment work, packing, revision, rendering transport-forwarding and agent’s services.

Privileges granted to investors:
- special custom regime;
- during the first 3 years the income tax rate – 0%, from fourth to sixth year – 50% of the current rate;
- exemption from investment tax: the investment sum obtained in accordance with the investment project is exempted from taxation;
- earnings in foreign currency are exempted from compulsory sale.

Special conditions in which investors receive privileges: realization of investment projects at the estimated costs not less then usd 1 mln created by the legal persons in the territory “free port” on the ground of the agreement (contract) with the body of economic development of the zone.

SPECIAL (FREE) ECONOMIC ZONE “RENI”

Location, area: Odessa, 94 hectares
Term of action: 30 years
Effective from: january 1, 2000

Legal basis: laws of Ukraine no. 1605 of march 23, 2000 “on special economic zone “Reni” and no. 1606 of march 23, 2000 “on amendments o some legislative acts of Ukraine on taxation in connection with creation of special (free) economic zone “Reni”.

Priority types of economic activity: servicing of transits, their storage, grading and assortment work, packing, revision, rendering transport-forwarding and agent’s services.

Privileges granted to investors:
- special custom regime;
- income tax rate obtained from investment project realization – 20%;
- exemption from investment tax: the investment sum obtained in accordance with the investment project is exempted from taxation;
- earnings in foreign currency are exempted from compulsory sale.

Special conditions in which investors receive privileges: realization of investment projects established on the territory of “Reni” SEZ by legal entities at the estimated costs not less then usd 200,000 on the ground of the agreement (contract) with the executive committee of the Reni town council.

TOURISM

Odessa region is one of the leading regions of Ukraine due to its tourism-recreation potential. Its geographical location, advanced transport infrastructure, mild climate, warm sea with many sand beaches, numerous cultural, historical, architectural, wild life sites, curative mud and mineral water recourses create appropriate conditions for effective development of the tourist-recreation sector.

Peculiarity of tourism-recreation potential in Odessa Region is its multinational, the numerous of historical, architectural and cultural sites. These are a well known all over the world Odessa State Theater of Opera and Ballet, Potyomkinskaya stairs, the Ukrainian Venice – Vilkovo town, the fortress in Belgorod-Dnistrovsk town (the settlement is to celebrate the 2500th anniversary this year), the ruins of the antic cities Tira and Nikoniya, architectural monuments in Odesa, Izmail, Reni, Kiliya and a many other places of interest.

There are 92 wild life reserve zones, including Danube biosphere preserve, Danube and Dniestr wetlands, landscape park “Tiligulskiy”, botanic garden of Odessa National University, 19 national parks and etc.

There are 704 objects for tourists reception in tourism-recreation centers of Odessa region including 43 sanatoria, 46 children camps, 37 hotels, 578 guest-houses, in which more than 100 000 visitors can be accommodated at the same time. They include unique “Kuyalnik” mud resort, “Ukraine”, “Lermontovskiy”, “A. Gorky” sanatoria and etc.

There are 498 facilities, which have license to permit tourist activity.

Tourism is one of Ukraine's fastest growing industries. It has become one of the key factors driving the Ukrainian economy. The results achieved by the country for the last few years have placed Ukraine in the top 25 most visited countries in the world.

Ukraine joined the World Tourism Organization in 1998. The head of the State Tourism Committee of Ukraine was elected a member of the World Tourism Organization Executive Council in 1999.

Odessa is known all over the world. The geographic location, rich cultural heritage and rapidly growing business life have made Odessa the second most visited by foreigners Ukrainian city after Kiev. It has a developed infrastructure. The natural recreational resources of the Region are its sea-side climate, sandy beaches, curative mud, estuary salt water and mineral springs. Odessa Region ranks third after the republic of Crimea and the Lviv region, in terms of natural curative resources and health recreational facilities.

Nowadays Odessa Region offers diverse recreactional and entertainment facilities (more than 700 sanatoria, hotels, camp sites etc.). There are 37 hotels in Odessa Region – 'Odessa', 'Mozart', 'Londonskaya' and 'Arcadia Plaza' being the most famous among them.International market.

In 2002, around 659,200 tourists travelled to or within Odessa Region, of which 174,000 were foreigners. The majority of the foreign tourists came from Russia, Germany, Italy, Moldova, Belorus, Poland and Turkey. Some 15-20 % of the foreign visitors came to Odessa Region for business and others visited the region for pleasure of which approximately 50,000 arrived by cruise ships (about 60% of the total amount of tourists in the Region).

The Black Sea and the Danube cruises have always been popular among foreign tourists. International cruise passenger liners enter the region by river (Dnipro or Danube) or by sea. During the cruising season from May till October an average of 70-80,000 tourists per year visit Odessa. The passengers come mainly from Germany, Italy, France, Holland, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary.

In 2002 total turnover of all tourist services in the region amounted to UAH 174,4 mln.

Active tourism
Sports activities such as hiking, horse riding and cycling as well as water based sports such as rowing and canoeing are often nature based. However, these activities are hardly offered on a professional basis and facilities are not yet available or are of a low standard. Initial target groups for active tourism are local residents or people from other regions of Ukraine. Foreigners are not yet a target group to be attracted, the facilities have to be considerably improved.

Zatoka and Karolino-Bugas
The Zatoka and Karolino-Bugas resorts have 178 holiday camps – the highest concentration in Odessa Region. A holiday camp or base is comprised of a large number of cottages, or apartments that are rented out on a daily or weekly basis. Next to holiday camps the area has many private dachas owned by the city dwellers.

Vilkovo
Vilkovo situated within the Danube Delta provides the major point of entrance to the Danube delta area. Vilkovo is unique in both historical and ethno-cultural terms. Now a town with the population of 12,000 , it was established in the first half of the 18th century by the so-called Lipovanians or Old Believers, adherents of a faction of the Russian Orthodox church which was officially banned in 1750. They had escaped from persecution and settled in this area to build a new life as hunters and fishermen. Until today, the Lipovanians represent the majority of the population of Vilkovo. They have kept alive many of their religious traditions, which explains for the fairly large number of well-kept churches with beautiful ancient icons covering their interiors. During the two and a half centuries of its existence, numerous nations, empires and regimes, such as Turkey, Russia, Romania, USSR, Germany and Ukraine ruled Vilkovo. The Danube Biosphere Reservation was established as the fourth UNESCO biosphere reservation in Ukraine. The reservation evolved from the former Dunaisky Plavni Nature Reservation and was linked with the already existing Romanian Danube Man and the Biosphere Reservation. The Danube Biosphere Reservation is one of the four biosphere reservations in Ukraine, being the only one of its kind in Odessa Region. Its area is 46,400 hectars. Up 20,000 foreign tourists visit Ukrainian sector of the Danube Delta.

Hunting and fishing
In the surroundings of Odessa one can find plenty of wetland areas, which are used for recreation activities by the Odessa dwellers, such as fishing, boating and hunting. Most of the activities take place in a rather disorganized manner, as not many facilities are available.

Hunting and fishing are already popular recreation activities for local residents. Special hunting areas have been designated in Odessa Region. Hunting trips could be interesting fornewesterners as hunting grounds in the west are scarce and hunting is becoming more and more restricted. Recreational fishing in the wetlands around Odessa is already a popular activity for the city residents.

INDUSTRY

The industry of Odessa Region has always been an important element of Ukrainian national economy and Southern economic Region. There are enterprises of oil refinery, machine building, machine repair mounting, metallurgy and metalworking, chemical, food, light industry and other branches.

A special place is occupied by the machine-building complex, which comprises about 110 industrial enterprises, 10 of them are included into the list of enterprises of strategic importance (joint stock companies "Odeskabel", producing blacksmith and press machines "Pressmash", plant of precision tool-machines "Micron" and others). A lot of machine building enterprises in the region have unique technologies.

JSC "Odeskabel" cooperates with the representatives of Japanese telecommunication company "Fudjekura I Kanematsu Corp."

JSC "Odmez" produces equipment for dairy, canning and wine-making industry. The equipment for flour-grinding, bakery and dairy industry is the basic production of "Prodmash" plant. JSC "Odessilmash" supplies the farmers with modern agricultural machinery.

Road-building machinery construction is represented by JSC "Building-processing machines' plant (pneumatic-equipment for cables laying, oil and gas pipe lines, pneumatic parquet polishing machines).

Production of automobile transport components, chassis for automobiles, trailers and long vehicles is represented by JSC "Automobile assembly plant", "Trailer-refrigerator", trams of new generation of JV "Tatra-South". The branches of machine-building complex include agricultural machinery and equipment repair plants; tool-machine repair; production of metal reinforcement and equipment for construction purposes etc.

The effective use of the capacities of shipbuilding and ship-repairing yards in Odessa region is increasing nowadays. Kiilya ship-building and repair yard produces grain-carts, barges, barges container carts.

"Ukraine" Ship repair yard cooperates with Bulgarian enterprises, as well as with Syrian, Greek, German ship owners. Izmail ship repair yard repairs barges for the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company.

Food and food processing industries play an important role in the structure of goods production.

Construction materials plants produce bricks, natural wall materials, ferrous-concrete items and constructions. These producers rely on local raw materials.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is one of the basic economy branches (according to production volume and employment of labor resources). Namely, 35 % of the population and over a half of production funds are engaged in it. 42 % of the Gross Domestic Product and 80 % of the consumer’s goods are produced in the sector.

Territory of the Region is 3,331,300 hectares, including 2594,5,00 hectares (78%) of agricultural land, of which 2076,5.00 hectares (80%) is arable land, 19,900 hectares (0,9 %) – convulsions, 90,700 hectares (4,4%) – perennial plantations, 50,600 hectares (2,4%) – hay-mowing, 356,800 hectares (17,2%) – pasture land.

The gross yield of agricultural production of Odessa Region as compared with the total national production exceeds 5,3%, grain 7,5%, sunflower – 8,1%, vine – 45,5 %, meat – 4,5%, milk – 4,8%, eggs – 6,3%.

483 collective farms have been transformed into 934 cooperative agricultural farms, 15,4% of which are private enterprises, agricultural companies – 31,2%, agricultural cooperatives – 29,2%, individual farms – 20,8%, other agricultural entities – 3,4%.

The basic branches of agricultural production in the Region are grain, sunflower and wine-growing, live-stock breeding, poultry and pig-raising.

The structure of agricultural gross output includes: grain – 29,9%, technical crops – 5,9%, sunflower – 4,1%, meat – 15,9%, milk – 13,3%, vegetables – 10,1%.

BANKING SECTOR

The Ukrainian banking system consists of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and commercial banks of various types. The NBU is present in Odessa Region by its branch offices.

The NBU is responsible for monetary circulation, registration of commercial banks and supervision of their activities; it sometimes intervenes in the currency market to moderate changes in the exchange rate.

Presently, commercial banks in Ukraine are able to issue loans, process and guarantee payments, accept deposits, offer factoring and leasing services, conduct foreign currency transactions and offer consulting services (with the proper licenses).

Commercial banks in Ukraine are incorporated, registered and licensed according to the NBU regulations issued in April 1996. The regulations allow citizens and foreigners to establish commercial banks as joint stock companies or limited partnerships. Each foreign partner’s participation in a commercial bank is limited to no more than 35% of the bank’s operating fund. The new regulations also allow Ukrainian commercial banks to open affiliate offices in foreign countries after obtaining an NBU license.

TRANSPORT NETWORK

Transport plays a leading role in the economy of Odessa region. Transport companies share 25% of the main funds, the branch provides employment for 15% of working population. Last year transport companies’ balance profits constituted 47% of balance profits of all economy branches in the region.

The routes of 5 important international transport corridors pass through Odessa Region’s territory, 4 of which are crossing sea ports of the region: Cretan #7 (by water along Danube),Cretan #9 ,Baltic Sea – Black Sea, OBSEC “Black Sea transport circle”, TRACECA (TransportCorridorEurope-Caucasus-Asia). In 1996 the international ferry crossing Illichivsk – Poti (Batumi) was opened; this ferry crossing is a part of the transport corridor TRACECA.

Sea and river transport are represented by the State shipping company “Black Sea Shipping”, open shareholders company “Ukrainian Danube Shipping”, shipping companies “Ukrferry” and “Ukrtanker”, eight sea trade ports: Odesa, Illichivsk, Bilgorod-Dnistrovsky, Izmail, Reni, Ust-Dunaisk, Illichivsk fishing port.

In general, the amount of cargos transported by the fleet of shipping companies of the region in 2002 had increased by 10,6% (5,6 mln tons) comparing to 2001, cargo turnover – by 5 % (6,9 mln tkm), and passengers turnover – by 74,1% (61,3 thousand pass.).

Ports of the Region
The biggest ports are Odesa port, Illichivsk port and port Yuzhny, through which annually over 60 mln tons of cargoes are reloaded.
Odesa port has 38 moorings with the total length of 8,0 km and receives vessels with the draft of 13,5 meters, an oil harbor, through which 25 mln tons of oil products can be annually reloaded.

Illichivsk port has 28 moorings with the length of 5,6 km and receives vessels with the draft of up to 13 meters.

Port Yuzhny has 8 moorings with the total length of 2,5 km and receives vessels with the draft of up to 13 meters.

The growing importance of the port Yuzhny among other Ukrainian ports is determined by the favorable geographic location, access to Mediterannean sea region, relative proximity to main sources of cargo, convenient transport connection with the main railways, all-year navigation and the possibilities of receiving modern large-tonnage fleet, which allows to create on the Black Sea the single deep-water port for the vessels with tonnage upto 150 thousand tons.

Bilgorod-Dnistrovsk port has 9 cargo moorings (total length – 1,1 km). Because of small depth, the port can receive vessels with D.W. upto 5 thousand tons. Besides the mentioned above universal ports, in the Region there is a specialized Illichivsky fishing port.

The construction of an oil terminal for the oil pipeline „Odesa – Brody – Gdansk“ has been completed. This opens new prospects for the development of new international oil-transporting systems.

Along with the above mentioned sea trade ports, ship-repairing plants, shipping companies Odessa Region’s transport network includes about 140 private crewing agencies and more than 200 forwarding agencies and agent companies, hydrotechnical and specialized transport-building institutions, scientific-research and projecting institutions, a variety of marine-specializing educational institutions, Odesa railways, over 140 automobile transport enterprises, state airline „Odesa airlines“, private airlines „Pivdenni Airlines“ and „Tavriya“, international airports Odesa and Izmail, airdrome complexes Lymanske and Bolgrad, pipeline enterprises and communal enterprise „Odeskmisktrans“.

Roads
Odesa region has a wide network of automobile roads connecting the center of the Region (Odesa) with other regional centers and other cities and regions of Ukraine.

Telecommunication systems
City telephone connection system in Odessa and other Odesa Region’s towns currently serves 444,4 thousand abonents. In rural area – 57,3 thousand abonents.

International and inter-city telephone connection is executed through nationally produced equipment of the type „Quartz“ (established at the inter-city station) and with the help of the services of the joint Ukrainian –American – German – Dutch enterprise „Utel“.