Agro-industrial holding Astarta, the largest sugar producer in the country, exported 833 thousand tons of products to 40 countries during the 2022-2023 marketing year (MY, September-August) under conditions of limited logistical opportunities.
“Despite the constant blocking of Russian maritime trade routes and other export restrictions, we managed to deliver to foreign markets and 563 thousand tons of grains and oilseeds, including 177 thousand tons of wheat and 386 thousand tons of corn. Italy, Spain, Indonesia and Kenya became the main importers of wheat, and China, Portugal and Spain – corn,” – reported the press service of the holding in Facebook.
According to the company’s data, the main consumers of soybean products during this period were EU countries, where Astarta supplied 48 thousand tons of soybean oil and 133 thousand tons of soybean meal, taking the second and first place among exporters of these products to the EU, respectively.
In addition, the holding also supplied 52 thousand tons of sugar to European markets, which also allowed Astarta to maintain its leading position among Ukrainian exporters.
“Due to our properly built reputation, transparency and consistency of business, we were ready for integration into European markets with both our main products and niche products. Incidentally, the niche ones, including organic flax and mustard, were one of the discoveries last season. It was their presence in our product portfolio that allowed us to work with both major and regional players in the European Union,” said Astarta’s commercial director Vyacheslav Chuk, whose words are quoted in the report.
He added that Astarta plans to deepen trade relations with key European partners and develop a product line under its own brand.
“Astarta” is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural farms with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globino (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In the first half of 2023, Astarta’s revenue from sales of key products increased by 64.8% year-on-year to UAH 10.72 bln. The main contribution was made by sales of sugar – UAH 3.27 bln, which increased by 75.5%, corn – UAH 2.66 bln (+53.2%) and soybean meal – UAH 1.96 bln (+84.5%).
