The government maintains its forecast of 7% growth in Ukrainian exports in 2025, despite a smaller-than-expected harvest of late crops this year, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka said.
“This is an absolutely objective, I would even say trivial forecast. Obviously, there may be a more optimistic forecast,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the conference ”Reform Matrix: Fundamentals of enhancing economic growth for EU accession” conference in Kyiv.
At the end of October, the National Bank of Ukraine in the tables to the Inflation Report improved its estimate of growth in exports of goods and services in 2025 to only 0.9% from 0.5%, or $57.7 billion, but in the text of the report itself predicted a decline in exports of goods and services in 2025 due to a smaller harvest and weak demand for IT services, with growth resuming in 2026 due to the gradual return of the economy to normal operating conditions.
At the same time, Kachka emphasized that it is necessary to take into account not only the volume of the entire harvest, but also the mix of crops in it, especially in terms of exports.
“For example, if you look at the fact that this year we have a smaller share of corn, respectively, we have a larger share of soybeans, a larger share of rapeseed, a larger share of sunflower – these are the goods for which we have better prices in general,” he explained.
The sales representative added that the price environment has changed.
“Therefore, growth in grains and oilseeds for the next year is quite possible and organic. And now, when we analyze the market, we realize that it is actually possible to earn more with less,” Kachka summarized regarding agricultural exports.
Regarding exports of metallurgical products, he noted that much will depend on decisions in North America regarding duties, as this is an important market for Ukraine.
According to him, exports of metallurgical products are growing and may exceed 20% this year, both for semi-finished products, pig iron, and finished products.
“The question is what the security situation will be like, what the energy situation will be like, etc., but export growth is also possible,” the Ukrainian trade representative said.
According to the NBU’s balance of payments, exports of goods and services from Ukraine increased by 8.4% to $41.33 billion over the first nine months of this year, including 10.3% to $28.64 billion in goods and 4.4% to $12.69 billion in services.
Imports of goods and services increased by 0.9% to UAH 66.66 billion, including 6.2% to UAH 49.65 billion, while services decreased by 1.9% to UAH 17.01 billion.
TAS Agro agricultural holding intends to finish the 2024 season with a net profit of more than $18 million, the company’s CEO Oleg Zapletnyuk said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
Answering the question why TAS Agro cut its revenue three times to UAH 739 million in nine months and incurred more than UAH 70 million in losses, compared to UAH 150 million in profit last year, Zapletnyuk explained that the drop was due to a change in sales strategy.
“By the end of September 2023, the agricultural holding had sold 70% of the products it produced in 2022. This year, as of November, only 30% of the production has been sold. (…) The sale of the remaining stock will adjust the financial result. (…) The financial result will be positive and much better than last year. Last year, crop production ended the season on the verge of profitability, this year we plan to achieve more than $320 EBITDA per hectare,” said the CEO of TAS Agro.
TAS Agro was established in 2014. Its land bank includes 88 thousand hectares in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. The holding specializes in crop production, with elevators with a capacity of about 250 thousand tons. The livestock business is represented by a cattle herd of 5.5 thousand heads, of which 2.5 thousand heads are dairy cattle.
According to the Opendatabot resource, the company’s revenue in 2023 amounted to UAH 2.588 billion, net profit – UAH 155.842 million, debt – UAH 1.2 billion, assets were estimated at UAH 1.8653 billion, and the number of employees – 129. The authorized capital is UAH 8 thousand.
The agricultural holding is part of the TAS group, which was founded in 1998. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance segments) and pharmacy, as well as industry, real estate, and venture capital projects.
The founder of TAS and the beneficiary of TAS Agro is Sergiy Tigipko.
Parallel has opened its first filling station in Kyiv (Kiltseva Road, 6B), the company’s website reports.
It has five fuel dispensers and offers the necessary modern services. In total, this is the 11th Parallel filling station in the capital region and the 31st in the network.
According to the report, the company plans to further develop the network both by opening new filling stations and expanding the number of partner complexes operating under the Parallel brand.
“The new complex has become a symbol of renewal for us – we have lost about 80% of all filling stations in eastern Ukraine, but this does not stop us. Ukrainians never give up, no matter what difficulties they face,” said Parallel owner and CEO Alexander Dubinin.
As reported earlier, in the fall of 2020, Rinat Akhmetov’s SCM financial and industrial holding sold the Parallel filling station chain to Naftainvest 2020 LLC. At that time, the company sold its fuel at 60 filling stations in Dnipropetrovska and Zaporizka oblasts and the government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhanska oblasts.
According to opendatabot, Parallel-M LTD, whose ultimate beneficiary is Oleksandr Dubinin, increased its revenue by 1.9 times to UAH 4.831 billion in 2023 and posted a net loss of UAH 0.978 million, compared to UAH 1.624 million in net profit in 2022.
In 2023, the company’s liabilities increased to UAH 4.018 billion compared to UAH 1.913 billion in 2022, and its assets increased to UAH 4.532 billion compared to UAH 2.369 billion in 2022.
Leasing company Eska Capital LLC is issuing UAH 130 million of three-year F series bonds without a public offering.
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine approved the issue on November 19 this year, according to its website.
There is no information on other parameters of the issue.
According to the register of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), this is the sixth issue of bonds by Eska Capital: In 2018, the debut issue of UAH 30 million bonds was registered with maturity in February 2022, in 2020 – issues of series “B” and “C” of UAH 50 million each with maturity in November 2023 and February 2024, in 2021 – issue of series “D” for UAH 100 million with maturity in June 2026 and in 2023 – issue of series “E” for UAH 60 million with maturity in November 2026.
Since 2008, Eska Capital LLC has been providing international leasing services for new and used cars, trucks and commercial vehicles, as well as agricultural machinery, trailers and semi-trailers, and tractors from Europe, Asia and the United States.
Currently, Oleksandr Honcharuk is listed as the sole owner of the company, while previously its beneficiaries with equal shares of 50% were Sergiy Vaskov and Anton Dyadyura.
“ESKA Capital, according to its presentation, had a leasing portfolio of UAH 410 million as of the middle of this year, with trucks accounting for 54%, agricultural machinery for 19%, passenger cars and LCVs for 18%, and special equipment for 9%.
In 2023, the company increased its revenue by 36.1% to UAH 514.49 million and net profit by 3.3 times to UAH 28.49 million, but these figures are still lower than before the war – UAH 560.48 million and UAH 41.50 million, respectively.
In 2024, TAS Agro invested $15 million in new equipment and infrastructure, and in 2025 it will continue to upgrade it, with livestock farming, design of bioethanol and biogas plants, and expansion of the land bank as priorities, the company’s CEO Oleg Zapletnyuk said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
“Over the past year, we have restarted the company (…) We have attracted financing for equipment. The money was used to improve working conditions and operational activities. Our strategy does not yet include a sharp increase in assets, so we are lending on a limited basis. Our focus is on increasing efficiency,” he said.
According to the CEO of the agricultural holding, TAS Agro purchased 14 John Deere tractors, 167 units of trailed equipment, loaders, seeders, manipulators, 45 Renault Duster pickups for agronomists, and 6 buses for transportation of employees in the 2024 season.
In addition, TAS Agro has begun building modern workshops and offices in the regions of its presence, and has set up service centers to repair equipment in the field.
In 2025, the agroholding intends to continue updating its equipment and complete the creation of anchor facilities in clusters: offices, warehouses, gas stations, for which it will allocate $7 million.
At the same time, the updated technology park allowed the agricultural holding to adjust its tillage technology and switch to deep loosening, vertical tillage, and strip-till sowing of rapeseed and wheat instead of plowing.
“This helped us reduce emissions and receive up to $800,000 in carbon certificates as part of a program to reduce our carbon footprint. How does it work? Each production facility in the EU has an emissions quota, and if a company cannot meet it, it buys a certificate from those who have reduced emissions on the stock exchange. This is a pretty good way for Ukrainian agricultural companies,” said Mr. Zapletniuk.
The agricultural holding has prioritized livestock production. In October 2024, TAS Agro transferred the buffalo farm TASbio to the management of TAS Agro. It produces cheeses that are sold in Le Silpo, Goodwine and Wine Time.
The agricultural holding plans to invest in the modernization of the dairy farm in 2025. “TAS Agro intends to build another farm for 1200 free-range cows, work with herd genetics, and introduce new approaches to feed production. In addition, the agroholding plans to improve herd housing and equip cattle facilities with climate control. Mr. Zapletnyuk added that Roshen buys milk from the agricultural holding mainly.
The agroholding plans to build bioethanol and biogas plants on the basis of dairy farms to create a closed production cycle.
“As for the energy sector, we are just developing a project. We will implement it in several stages by the end of 2027. The preliminary estimate of investments in biogas, bioethanol, and farm expansion is up to $15 million,” said Zapletniuk.
In addition, in 2024, TAS Agro bought an elevator with a storage capacity of 40 thousand tons in Chernihiv region. Along with it, a seed plant was sold, which also has a storage capacity of 10 thousand tons. The acquired assets, according to the CEO, will allow the agricultural holding to solve the storage problem and improve logistics. “TAS Agro plans to launch the acquired seed plant, which will produce wheat and soybean seeds.
At the same time, TAS Agro bought 2.5 thousand hectares of corporate rights in Vinnytsia region for long-term lease in the 2024 season. The plan for the next year is to expand the land bank by at least 10 thousand hectares to 90-95 thousand hectares.
Thanks to the resumption of the work of Ukrainian seaports, the agricultural holding has abandoned plans to acquire its own fleet and is no longer considering such investments, summarized the CEO of TAS Agro.
TAS Agro was established in 2014. Its land bank includes 88 thousand hectares in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. The holding specializes in crop production, with elevators with a capacity of about 250 thousand tons. The livestock business is represented by a cattle herd of 5.5 thousand heads, of which 2.5 thousand heads are dairy cattle.
According to the Opendatabot resource, the company’s revenue in 2023 amounted to UAH 2.588 billion, net profit – UAH 155.842 million, debt – UAH 1.2 billion, assets were estimated at UAH 1.8653 billion, and the number of employees – 129. The authorized capital is UAH 8 thousand.
The agricultural holding is part of the TAS group, which was founded in 1998. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance segments) and pharmacy, as well as industry, real estate, and venture capital projects.
The founder of TAS and the beneficiary of TAS Agro is Sergiy Tigipko.
On Holodomor Remembrance Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of Ukraine as one of the world’s donors of food security and stressed the need to ensure the security of food supply routes.
“Since the launch of our Grain from Ukraine program, 20 million people have been saved from starvation. And this is only thanks to our humanitarian program. In total, Ukrainian food exports provide 400 million people in 100 countries,” he wrote in a telegram on Saturday.
Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine is one of the world’s largest donors of food security. “And we maintain this importance despite the full-scale war.”
“That is why it is so important that we continue to stand together in protecting food security, the security of food supply routes and other critical exports. With this war against Ukraine, Russia has shown that there are no countries in the world that are really far from each other. Everything in the world is now connected. We are all equally interested in ensuring that no one in the world fights against food,” Zelensky emphasized.
