The International Finance Corporation (IFC) on June 1 signed a contract to provide the largest Ukrainian vertically integrated tomato paste producer, Agrofusion, with a long-term loan of $17 million. According to information on the IFC’s website, the funds are intended to expand the company in 2018-2019 and refinance its obligations. The total cost of the project is estimated at $30 million.
The IFC said this is the third project with Agrofusion.
Agrofusion is the largest vertically integrated producer of tomato paste in Ukraine. It was founded by businessman Serhiy Sypko in 2007. Agrofusion includes three tomato paste production plants with a total production capacity of about 750,000 tonnes of tomatoes per season, as well as agribusinesses in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, cultivating 25,000 hectares of irrigated land, and two hothouse farms. In 2017, the company expanded its capacity and reached 79,443 tonnes of paste (64,800 tonnes in 2016). Some 70% of its products are exported to 35 countries.
Acting Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) Vitaliy Trubarov has signed orders on the privatization of 22 large facilities. “There is no way back. The fund signed 22 orders for the privatization of large facilities. This is the first large list of enterprises for sale for the last ten years,” he said on Facebook. As reported, the SPF intends by July 1 to declare tenders for the selection of advisors for the privatization of 22 facilities.
At the end of May, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine published a list of enterprises of “big” privatization for 2018, which included 23 enterprises. The approved list, in particular, included five regional energy companies, Centrenergo, Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant, Turboatom, Zaporizhia Titanium and Magnesium Combine, United Mining and Chemical Company, and Sumykhimprom.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will pay a working visit to Turkey on Tuesday, June 12, to participate in the ceremony to launch the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP). According to the press service of the head of state, Poroshenko is making the visit at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The program of the visit foresees a number of bilateral meetings between the Ukrainian president and the leaders of foreign countries.
The Ukrainian beer market in 2018 will show positive dynamics, AB InBev Efes President Dmytro Shpakov believes. “We expect that the market in 2018 will not only stabilize, but will show positive dynamics, given that in 2018 excise tax was not raised,” he told Interfax-Ukraine during Corona Save Trukhaniv Island, the environmental campaign to clean up the Trukhaniv Island. The expert noted that, according to research by Nielsen global company, beer consumption in Ukraine increased by 1.6% in 2017 against the fall of this indicator by 7.2% in 2016.
According to Shpakov, now there observed the trend towards the growth of premium and super-premium segments in Ukraine.
“However, the mid-price segment still remains the most popular. Beer with fruity taste is becoming more popular,” he said.
Local production accounted for 97.5% in the portfolio of Sun InBev Ukraine in 2017, while imports for 2.5%.
“In 2017 we increased the volume of imported products in our portfolio by 23.7%,” the president of AB InBev Efes said.
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
