Cargill became the majority (51%) owner of a joint venture with Neptune Port Holding B.V. brothers Yehor Hrebennikov and Andriy Stavnitser of M.V. Cargo LLC, a grain terminal Neptune with a design capacity of 5 million tonnes per year in Pivdenny port in the Black Sea.
“Neptune is meeting the growing demand for deep water port infrastructure in Ukraine by giving farmers access to new distant markets,” Cargill said in a statement on Friday.
The U.S. company said that in 2016 it signed an agreement with Stavnitser and Hrebennikov on the construction of the terminal, which started operation in 2019.
“Neptune is strengthening Cargill’s port infrastructure in the Black Sea region, therefore, we continue to invest in the agricultural sector of Ukraine,” Cargill said.
Neptune handles various types of grains and oilseeds, primarily maize, barley and wheat, with a depth of 16 meters at the terminal berth, which allows it to receive large-tonnage vessels. Cargill is an important user of the terminal, exporting a significant portion of the products purchased in Ukraine from it, but Neptune serves other customers as well.
“In short: Cargill had an obligation to enter the project, and we signed to bring the terminal to the level of Cargill’s space standards. Now Yehor and I are practically equal partners with the largest private food corporation in the world,” Stavnitser said on Facebook.
He said that in 2014, when the war broke out, an oil extraction plant in Donetsk was taken away from the U.S. investor, but Cargill was persuaded to make a new investment in Ukraine.
Stavnitser said that two years after the launch and in the process of completion, Neptune became grain terminal No. 2 on the Black Sea in terms of cargo turnover.
The statement does not contain information about the cost of the transaction. It is said that Cargill, as the majority shareholder, will lead the strategic development of the Neptune terminal, with a local team responsible for operational management.
