Some 90% of SMEs resume operations in Mykolaiv region’s de-occupied Snihurivka community

The relevant statement was made by Snihurivka City Military Administration Head Ivan Kukhta in a commentary to an Ukrinform correspondent.

“Prior to the war, the community’s industrial potential consisted of processing enterprises, such as a butter factory, mineral water bottling plant, flour production enterprise, bread factory, Agrofusion tomato processing group of companies, etc. As a result of hostilities, all of them suffered significant damage and suspended operation. But, as of today, 90% of SMEs have resumed operations,” Kukhta told.

According to Tetiana Tereshchuk, a local shop owner, business revenues have significantly reduced compared to the pre-war period. In the first days of the invasion, Russians ransacked her store, and she left for the Czech Republic, where she worked at four jobs. The money earned helped Tetiana to restore her Snihurivka-based shop.

“Doing business is challenging here. The demand for goods isn’t high. I owe a lot of money for the products I took before the full-scale war started. I repay the debt in small portions and take the goods for sale at the same time,” Tereshchuk told.

Oleksandr Katkov, the director of Sofia Farm Enterprise, also shared his story. In 2022, all wheat crops were destroyed in a field fire, and the land had not been cultivated for two years. Following the de-occupation, they cleared the field from explosives on their own and sowed it last spring. But, due to the draught, the harvest was poor, and they sold it almost at its production cost, as they had to urgently repay the debt for fuel and seeds.

“There is a good government lending programme, Affordable Loans at 5-7-9%. But, the thing is that banks refuse to provide loans to our farmers, as we are in the area of potential hostilities. We would like some help to resolve this issue, as we cannot develop otherwise,” Katkov said.

A reminder that the Ukrainian Economy Ministry is developing a strategy for land recovery in the de-occupied territories. The ministry took charge of a working group to create a system for analyzing soils damaged by hostilities and develop recommendations for farmers working on such soils.