KYIV. Oct 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kernel, a large agroholding in Ukraine, seeks to invest $130 million in construction of an oilseed crushing plant in Khmelnytsky region.
The company said in a press release on Wednesday that the commissioning of the plant is scheduled for 2020.
The installed processing capacity of the plant will be 1 million tonnes of sunflower seeds per year.
“The construction site is in the western part of the country, near Starokonstiantyniv in Khmelnytsky region, next door to Kernel’s silo… The project will be financed from the Eurobond proceeds raised in 2017,” the company said.
The memorandum on construction of the new plant was signed on October 11 by representatives of the company and the governor of Khmelnytsky region.
Kernel said that Western Ukraine has a significant potential to increase sunflower seed production.
The new plant will be the most modern plant in Ukraine in its segment. The enterprise will boost tax payments to the local budget, create new jobs and allow local companies to participate in tenders for providing labor and services, Kernel said.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading producer and supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region to the world markets. The vertically integrated structure of the company is built on closely interrelated business segments: production, export and domestic sales of sunflower oil, plant growing, grain exports, providing grain storage and transshipment services at elevators and port terminals. Since 2007 the company’s shares have been traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
