Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, has started harvesting sugar beet, for which it has allocated 39 thousand hectares in the 2023 season, the group’s website reports.
According to the report, on September 8, farmers in Vinnytsia region started digging, and agricultural producers in Poltava region will join the harvesting campaign on September 14.
According to preliminary estimates of the agricultural holding’s experts, this year’s yield and quality of sugar beet will be higher and better than last year’s figures.
In preparing for this year’s harvesting campaign and taking into account the experience of previous seasons, Astarta’s team paid special attention to logistics.
“The company has invested in the construction of almost 90 km of field roads. Also, on Astarta’s initiative and in close cooperation with the Poltava Regional Military Administration and the Globyno community, the company is completing the repair of a 25 km section of the Manzhelia-Globyno public road,” the statement said.
To optimize the delivery of raw materials from the field to the warehouses, the agricultural holding has purchased 22 self-propelled loaders.
In addition, Astarta continues to actively implement digital AgriChain products, including the new AgriChainLogistics module to optimize the processes of collection, delivery, storage and processing of raw materials.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
As reported, Astarta earned EUR65.16 million in net profit in 2022, down 46.8% compared to 2021. Last year, the holding’s EBITDA decreased by 23.2% to EUR154.77 million, while revenue increased by 3.8% to EUR510.07 million.
In the first quarter of 2023, the agricultural holding earned EUR16.13 million in net profit, up 6.2 times compared to the first quarter of 2022, its revenue increased by 37.1% to EUR163.55 million, and EBITDA by 63.5% to EUR37.91 million.
The major shareholders of Astarta at the end of the first half of the year were the family of its founder and CEO Viktor Ivanchyk – 40.11% and Fairfax Financial Holdings LTD with subsidiaries – 29.91%.
