Nibulon, one of Ukraine’s largest grain market operators, has launched a new service – harvesting. The grain trader has already processed more than 5,000 hectares in the Odesa region, according to its press service.
According to the report, Nibulon uses Claas Lexion 7700 combines and its own fleet of trucks to carry out the work, which allows it to control the entire chain from the field to the elevator.
The harvesting service includes the delivery of equipment exactly on time, transparent pricing — a fixed rate per crop, booking without obligations, but with priority during the season.
The agricultural holding is now ready to scale up and sign further contracts with producers throughout Ukraine.
Nibulon LLC was established in 1991. Before the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and complexes for receiving agricultural crops, a capacity for one-time storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugboats), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82,000 hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries around the world. In 2021, the grain trader exported a record 5.64 million tons of agricultural products and delivered record volumes to foreign markets in August (0.7 million tons), in the fourth quarter (1.88 million tons), and in the second half of the year (3.71 million tons).
The grain trader is currently operating at 32% of its capacity, has created a special unit for demining agricultural land, and has been forced to move its central office from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
Corteva Agriscience, an international science and technology-based agricultural company, intends to invest an additional $15 million in expanding its seed business in Ukraine as soon as the security situation allows, Corteva Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe Andre Negreiros said at the International Conference on Ukraine’s Recovery 2025 (Rome, Italy).
“Ukrainian farmers tend fields and crops that feed not only Europe, but also Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Every ton of grain that leaves the ports of Greater Odessa or sails down the Danube contributes to global food security. The resilience of the agricultural sector is a strategic necessity for Ukraine’s recovery. With this investment, we intend to modernize and expand our seed production and strengthen our partnerships with local farmers to meet the growing demand for Ukrainian corn and oilseeds, enabling them to generate new income,” the company’s press service quoted him as saying during a discussion on the revival and modernization of production in Ukraine.
Corteva Agriscience is a global agricultural company. It offers comprehensive solutions to maximize crop yields and profitability. It has more than 150 research facilities and more than 65 active ingredients in its portfolio. Its presence in Ukraine includes a central office in Kyiv, a research and development center in Lyubartsi (Kyiv region), and a seed production complex in Stasi (Poltava region).
In April 2022, the company decided to leave the Russian market due to the full-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
Since 2022, Corteva has allocated more than $2 million to help those affected, donated thousands of seed units to farmers working near the front line, launched a soil testing program to ensure safe crop production despite war-related contamination, and provided 350 rural women with training and grants through the TalentA program.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and state-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) have signed a Letter of Intent to sign a financial agreement under the Economic Resilience Support Program II project for a total amount of EUR 100 million to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in the energy efficiency and green technology sectors.
According to the bank’s website on Monday, the document was signed on July 10 at the International Conference on the Recovery of Ukraine (URC2025). The agreement is expected to give Ukrainian businesses access to long-term financing on favorable terms.
“Thanks to access to long-term financing, companies will be able to implement environmentally friendly projects, modernize production, and confidently integrate into the EU economic space,” said Viktor Ponomarenko, chairman of the board of Ukreximbank, as quoted in the statement.
According to the press release, the program aims to improve access for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as mid-cap companies, to sources of financing for investment projects and working capital needs. The initiative is expected to contribute to Ukraine’s sustainable economic development, its integration into the EU economy, and the entry of Ukrainian companies into international markets.
Within the framework of the EIB’s Green Initiative, Ukreximbank’s clients will be able to implement projects in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the introduction of clean innovative technologies.
According to the NBU, as of April 2025, Ukreximbank ranked third in terms of total assets among 60 operating banks, with UAH 311.8 billion.
Italy intends to sign an intergovernmental agreement with Ukraine for EUR 50 million to purchase Italian goods and services for recovery and allocate EUR 100 million to the ERA (Economic Resilience Action) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group to support the private sector, Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said.
“I would like to emphasize that all these initiatives will be financed from new grant resources, with the clear intention of not placing an additional burden on Ukraine’s state budget,” he said at the URC2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, according to a correspondent from the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The minister also announced an additional contribution of EUR 10 million for the implementation of an EBRD project in the agro-industrial sector, which aims to modernize Ukraine’s agro-industrial sector while promoting its integration into global value chains.
In addition, Giorgetti stressed the importance of technical cooperation as a basis for effective and sustainable reconstruction and announced his intention to allocate EUR 1.5 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) initiative FIRST (Ukraine Facility for Infrastructure Reconstruction) to assist in the preparation of public investment projects for the reconstruction of infrastructure facilities in Ukraine.
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.
