The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing the VARUS Group retail chain with a $25 million loan to expand its retail operations and improve business sustainability, according to the EBRD press service.
This food security project, with a total value of $53.1 million, will receive a 22% first loss risk coverage provided by the EU under the Investment Facility for Ukraine (UIF) through the Municipal, Infrastructure and Industrial Resilience (MIIR) program. To date, the EU has allocated EUR 207 million in guarantees and grants to Ukraine through the EBRD under the Ukraine Investment Facility (UIF), 87% of which has been provided to the private sector.
The guarantee for Varus plays a crucial role in mitigating the heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical risks associated with the investment. The support is provided in recognition of the project’s alignment with the bank’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach through energy-efficient modernization, the installation of renewable energy sources, and the improvement of sustainable logistics. It includes the installation of solar panels, high-efficiency lighting, and reversible split air conditioning systems with low global warming potential.
VARUS Group is the fifth largest food retail chain in Ukraine. The chain consists of 114 stores, most of which are located in the eastern part of the country, employing around 7,500 people. Despite the closure of some retail outlets due to the war, the group has opened new stores and been able to return to its pre-war size. The EBRD loan will enable further expansion of the VARUS network, the refurbishment and modernization of equipment in existing stores, the lease of a new warehouse, and the installation of photovoltaic systems to reduce dependence on the electricity grid.
Cooperation with the EBRD will help preserve Ukraine’s human capital and the livelihoods of workers despite the ongoing challenges of wartime through technical cooperation. The project will also benefit from a co-investment grant to optimize warehouse logistics, improve energy efficiency, and address urgent human capital needs.
Technical support is funded by the EBRD’s Multilateral Donor Fund “Action for Equality and Gender Equality” (A4EG), while project preparation and the co-investment grant are funded by the Japan-EBRD Cooperation Fund.
“Global soybean supply and demand forecasts for 2025/26 call for increased supply, increased processing, reduced exports, and increased ending stocks. (…) The biggest surprise came from Ukraine, where production was sharply increased by 1 million tons to 7.6 million tons. This is not only higher than the previous forecast, but also exceeds last season’s record (7 million tons).Global soybean production has been increased due to an increase in the production forecast for Ukraine based on government data on the progress of sowing,” the report notes.
The forecast for global soybean production in 2025/26 MY has been increased by 0.86 million tons to 427.7 million tons, exports have been reduced by 0.8 million tons to 187.6 million tons, and final global soybean stocks have been increased by 0.77 million tons to 126.07 million tons.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has lowered its July forecast for Ukraine’s wheat production in the 2025-2026 marketing year (MG, July-June) by 1 million tons compared to the June forecast, to 22 million tons (by 4.35%), while leaving its forecast for corn unchanged and raising its forecast for soybeans by 1 million tons, to 7.6 million tons (by 15.15%).
According to the US agency’s forecast, published on its website, wheat exports from Ukraine have been reduced by 1 million tons to 15.5 million tons, while final stocks have been increased by 0.1 million tons to 1.59 million tons.
Ukraine has significant reserves of titanium, graphite, manganese, lithium, uranium, and other critical materials and will work to establish production of components for batteries, solar panels, and defense technologies, This vision for the development of critical materials (CRM) was presented by Deputy Minister of Economy Andriy Telyupa at the URC2025 Recovery Conference in Rome.
“The goal is to attract more than $2 billion in investments and launch more than 20 projects in five years. In the future, Ukraine should become not only an exporter of raw materials, but also a production base for green and defense tech within the EU,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, unlike previous programs, URC2025 included two separate events dedicated to CRM: a session and a workshop. Among the participants, in addition to representatives of the Ukrainian government, were representatives of the DFC, EBRD, DECOMAR, DG GROW, Chemours, Horizon Capital, TechMet, and BGV Group Management.
In addition, Telyupa presented Ukraine’s industrial strategy concept at the conference, which aims to create a modern economy with high added value to strengthen the country’s security and integrate it into EU production chains.
“The focus is on sectors where we have competitive advantages: machine building, steel, titanium, lithium, graphite, as well as the IT sector and renewable energy. By the end of 2025, we will finalize the strategy, with implementation planned for 2026-2030.
We are developing it jointly with the World Bank, the OECD, UNIDO, and the Kyiv School of Economics,“ the deputy minister said.
He also presented the ”Industrial Ramstein” initiative, created by analogy with the Defense Rammstein format, to mobilize international assistance for the restoration and modernization of industry.
“The initiative provides for the transfer of equipment as humanitarian aid through G2G mechanisms, partial procurement financing programs, the involvement of export credit agencies to cover risks and reduce the cost of loans, B2B missions, staff training, and certification of production facilities in accordance with international standards,” Telyupa explained.
According to him, in addition, the URC2025 presented the “Green Platform,” a digital catalog of over 60 green financing programs for businesses, communities, and enterprises, created in collaboration with the Green Transition Office and integrated into the Made in Ukraine portal.
“(The catalog) will become a single point of entry for anyone looking for funding for energy-efficient, resource-saving, and low-carbon solutions,” said the deputy minister.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko also signed a new project with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) worth $188 million from the Japanese government for green industrial reconstruction.
Telyupa emphasized that this project involves technology transfer and the creation of joint ventures with Japanese companies. Within its framework, more than 30,000 Ukrainians will acquire new skills, and Ukrainian manufacturers will test and implement more than 40 advanced technologies in agro-processing, circular economy, IT, renewable energy, water, energy efficiency, and telemedicine.
On July 10, 2025, the Franco-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFU) awarded Ukrainian women entrepreneurs for the seventh time as part of the “Created by Women” competition aimed at supporting female entrepreneurship.
This year, the competition received 435 applications from businesswomen from different regions of the country with projects in a wide variety of fields: agriculture, education, health, defense, sustainable technologies, traditional Ukrainian crafts, and more.
It was extremely difficult for the jury to select the winners, as all the contestants were strong and worthy.
The ten finalists were narrowed down to one winner: Iryna Koval, head of Brammer LLC (Kyiv), who received 200,000 UAH from CCI France Ukraine to develop her business, as well as free membership in the CCFU for one year.
BRAMMER is part of a group of companies that has been involved in metalworking for over 15 years, and with the start of the full-scale invasion, it switched to the production of Brammer tactical wheelchairs, which serve as evacuation vehicles to save the lives of military personnel and civilians and help the military transport ammunition, provisions, and equipment. These wheelchairs have helped save over 120,000 lives. The company donated over 8,500 units to 90 units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces free of charge.
Second place, 100,000 UAH, and a special award from UKRSIBBANK for business development went to Lyubov Lysenko, director of BIOBALANS LLC (Poltava), an agricultural company engaged in biological plant protection.
Third place, 100,000 UAH, went to Maria Ksondzyk, Nesemos Veteran Auto Hub, a car service that repairs evacuation vehicles free of charge, trains veterans in new professions, and converts cars for people with disabilities.
A special award and 100,000 hryvnias from Yves Rocher went to Olena Dovgopolova, INAKSHI architects.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/UkrDiplomatic
Over the past few decades, poultry farming has become the most dynamic and widespread type of animal husbandry in the world. Chickens, the main link in this industry, have gone far beyond traditional subsistence farming and have become the main source of animal protein for billions of people. Experts Club analysts have studied global changes in chicken breeding between 1990 and 2023, recording unprecedented growth and structural transformations in the industry.
“Poultry farming has become a symbol of the new consumer economy: fast production, low cost, adaptability to global demand. That is why chicken is replacing other types of meat around the world,” said Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
In the early 1990s, the total number of chickens in the world was estimated at 10 billion (in thousands of heads). Even then, this figure exceeded the number of any other type of farm animal. However, the real leap forward took place in 2000–2020. By 2023, the total number of chickens in the world exceeded 29 billion, i.e., it almost tripled in three decades. This means that there are approximately 3.6 chickens per person on the planet, considering the total world population of over 8 billion.
This explosive growth can be explained by several key factors. First and foremost is economic efficiency. Chicken is the cheapest meat to produce, requiring significantly less feed, water, and time to raise than pork or beef. In the context of global urbanization, rising incomes, and changing eating habits, chicken has become a “universal” product: it is consumed equally in the US, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Egypt.
In addition to economics, religious and cultural factors are equally important. Unlike pork and beef, which are restricted in consumption due to religious prohibitions in Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism, chicken is acceptable in almost all traditions.
This makes it a globally universal source of protein. “Chicken is a compromise protein. It is acceptable everywhere, inexpensive, quick to process, and that is why it has become the standard of the 21st century,” Urakin emphasized. Technical innovations play an equally important role.
From the 1990s to the 2020s, the poultry industry has undergone a technological revolution: automated incubators, genetically improved broilers, controlled growing conditions, biosecurity, and strict quality monitoring have become the norm in large agricultural countries. This has significantly increased the industry’s productivity. On average, the cycle of raising a broiler to market size has been reduced from 70 to 42 days.
Geographically, the largest chicken producers are China, the US, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Russia. At the same time, African countries are experiencing rapid growth in domestic production, focused on both food security and reducing dependence on imports.
However, the growth dynamics of the livestock population also carries risks. The increasing density of chicken farming creates an increased epidemiological burden, which is particularly evident in the form of outbreaks of avian influenza. In addition, critics point to animal welfare issues, excessive use of antibiotics, and methane emissions from poultry farms.
“Modern poultry farming must find a balance between productivity and society’s ethical requirements. This is a new challenge that the industry has not faced before,” said Maksim Urakin.
In the coming years, further growth in chicken consumption is expected, particularly in low-income countries, as well as an expansion of exports from Brazil, Thailand, and Ukraine. However, alternative proteins — plant-based and cell-based products already entering the market — may pose increasing competition to poultry farming.
For a more detailed overview of trends in poultry farming and graphs showing changes in livestock numbers, see the video on the Experts Club YouTube channel.
agroanalytics, chickens, EXPERTS CLUB, global livestock farming, poultry farming, МАКСИМ УРАКИН
