Every sugar factory has a place where numbers are turned into decisions, and decisions are turned into consistent quality. This is the laboratory. Its work is explained in the new free online course “Sugar Factory Laboratory” on the AgriAcademy educational platform by technologists from the Astarta agro-industrial holding, writes SEEDS.
The course will help specialists combine the field and production into one clear technological chain — without sucrose losses, with transparent control and predictable results.
What is this course about?
It is a unique opportunity to see the entire journey that sugar beets take to ensure that every kilogram of sugar is of high quality — from the field to the crystal.
You will learn:
The course focuses on systematic quality control:
The course is part of a series of courses on sugar beet cultivation and processing technologies from the agro-industrial holding “Astarta.”
Other training courses from Astarta specialists are also available on the platform:
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding in Ukraine, a public European company that conducts socially responsible business and produces food products with a focus on global markets. Its main activities are concentrated in crop production, the sugar industry, dairy farming, soybean processing, grain logistics, and bioenergy.
AgriAcademy is a free online learning platform created on the initiative of the EBRD as part of its food security support program in Ukraine. Its goal is to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainable development of agriculture, which has suffered significant losses due to the war.
The creation and management of the platform (including the development of courses, educational tours, etc.) is carried out with the support and funding of the EBRD, as well as:
agriculturalist, ASTARTA, educational course, sugar factory laboratory
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, intends to continue investing in the construction of its soy protein concentrate plant in 2026. These investments will amount to approximately EUR40 million, said Vyacheslav Chuk, director of commercial operations and strategic marketing at the agricultural holding.
“Our budget process is not yet complete, but the agricultural holding will definitely invest in the completion of our new project to build a soy protein concentrate plant. This is about EUR40 million, and the rest is maintenance, which will vary depending on what we focus on,” he said at the Forbes Agro 2025 conference in Kyiv on Friday.
Responding to a follow-up question about how much Astarta will invest during the year to resolve current issues, Chuk said it could be tens of millions of dollars.
In 2024, Astarta began investing in the construction of a plant for processing soybean meal into soybean protein concentrate with a capacity of 500 tons/day (about 100,000 tons per year) in the Hlobyn industrial complex (Poltava region). The agricultural holding is investing more than EUR 76 million in the purchase of equipment and technologies and will create 110 new jobs.
Astarta and its structural unit Astarta Agro Protein signed the first investment agreement with the Ukrainian government to receive compensation from the state for significant investments. Under the agreement, the state will provide the agricultural holding with a number of incentives, including exemption from import duties on new equipment, import VAT on new equipment, and income tax for up to five years.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine and is the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares, dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobine (Poltava region), seven elevators, and a biogas complex.
In the first nine months of 2024, Astarta increased its net profit by 35.1% compared to the same period in 2023, to EUR75.60 million. The agricultural holding’s revenue grew by 12.6% to EUR441.46 million, and EBITDA by 12.8% to $131.56 million.
On September 15, Viktor Ivanchik, CEO of the Astarta agricultural holding, purchased 244,679 thousand shares, or 0.9787% of their total number, over the counter through Albacon Ventures Limited at a price of PLN55.5 per share, which is significantly higher than the price quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
The corresponding announcement on the stock exchange on the evening of Thursday, September 18, led to a 6.58% increase in the share price on Friday, to PLN47.00.
The last time Ivanchik bought shares in significantly smaller volumes on the exchange was at the end of June, but then the deals were concluded at a price ranging from PLN57.6 to PLN60.0 per share. However, after that, the shares of Astarta and other Ukrainian companies fell in price due to another loss of optimism about the possibility of a ceasefire. However, in early March, the CEO of the agricultural holding bought shares at PLN48.9, at the end of December at PLN39.6, and at the end of October at PLN30.9 per share.
According to the latest stock exchange report, Ivanchik’s total expenditure on the purchase of a stake of almost 1% can be estimated at PLN13.58 million, or about $3.7 million.
It is noted that after this transaction, the CEO of Astarta owns 10,678,610 shares of the agricultural holding, or 42.7144% of their total number.
According to the latest report, as of mid-year, Ivanchik’s family owned a total of 42.23% of shares, compared to 41.48% at the beginning of this year and 41.17% in the middle of last year. Fairfax Financial Holdings has also been a major shareholder all this time, with 29.91%, while another 2.1184% of shares are owned by the company itself and were previously repurchased as part of a buyback. As of May this year, minority shareholders also included Kopernik Global Investors with 2.64% and Heptagon Capital with 1.8%.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine and is the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares, dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobyn (Poltava region), seven elevators, and a biogas complex.
In the first half of 2025, Astarta reduced its net profit by 10.3% to EUR47.11 million, and its consolidated revenue decreased by 29.3% to EUR320.71 million.
On June 12 this year, the shareholders’ meeting approved the payment of dividends for 2024 in the amount of EUR0.5 per share for a total of EUR12.5 million, which is in line with the figures for the previous two years.
Agroholding Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, processed 123,000 tons of soybeans in January-June 2025, which is in line with last year’s figure, according to the agricultural holding’s report published on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Friday.
According to the published data, the segment’s revenue in the first half of 2025 decreased by 6% year-on-year to EUR 55 million, with exports accounting for 91% (+5 p.p. year-on-year) of this revenue.
Gross profit in the soybean processing segment decreased by 41% year-on-year to EUR12 million. Gross profit margin was 21% in the first half of 2025, compared to 33% in the first half of 2024, which Astarta explained by an increase in the cost of sales. EBITDA for the first half of 2025 amounted to EUR7 million (-58% year-on-year), while EBITDA margin decreased from 28% to 13% in the first half of 2025.
According to the agricultural holding, the implementation of the investment project to build a soy protein concentrate production plant is proceeding according to schedule. Production is scheduled to start in 2026.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine and is the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares, dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobyn (Poltava region), seven elevators, and a biogas complex.
In 2024, Astarta increased its net profit by 34.5% to EUR83.25 million, while its consolidated revenue decreased by 1.1% to EUR612.15 million.
In the first quarter of this year, the agricultural holding’s revenue fell by 24.9% to EUR124.58 million, while net profit fell by 28.8% to EUR6.42 million.
On June 12 this year, the shareholders’ meeting approved the payment of dividends for 2024 in the amount of EUR0.5 per share for a total of EUR12.5 million, which is in line with the figures for the previous two years.
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, increased its average cattle herd to 29,000 head (+4%) in January-June 2025.
According to data published by the holding company on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, in the first half of this year, Astarta increased milk yield per cow by 3% to 28 kg/day, which led to a 2% increase in milk production to 63,000 tons.
Revenue in the segment grew by 17% to EUR29 million due to an 11% increase in prices and a 2% increase in sales volumes.
Gross profit decreased by 11% compared to the same period last year to EUR13 million, reflecting higher costs and a revaluation of BA during Q1 2025. Gross margin decreased from 57% to 43% in the first half of 2025.
EBITDA amounted to EUR12 million compared to EUR15 million in the first half of 2024.
The agricultural holding estimated its share in milk production in Ukraine at 3%.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agricultural holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine and the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares, dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobyn (Poltava region), seven elevators, and a biogas complex.
In 2024, Astarta increased its net profit by 34.5% to EUR83.25 million, while its consolidated revenue decreased by 1.1% to EUR612.15 million.
In the first quarter of this year, the agricultural holding’s revenue fell by 24.9% to EUR124.58 million, while net profit fell by 28.8% to EUR6.42 million.
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, reduced sugar sales by 29% in January-June 2025, the agricultural holding’s press service reported.
Astarta noted that in the first half of 2025, the segment’s revenue amounted to EUR79 million, which is 38% less than in the same period last year.
This was caused by an 11% drop in sugar prices and a 29% decrease in sales volumes, the agricultural holding explained.
According to the report, sugar exports accounted for 47% of the segment’s revenue, compared to 58% in the first half of 2024. The main export destinations were Libya, Macedonia, and Israel. Astarta’s share in Ukraine’s sugar exports was 24%.
Astarta’s team is currently actively preparing for the sugar beet harvest and processing season.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine and the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares, dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobine (Poltava region), seven elevators, and a biogas complex.
In 2024, Astarta increased its net profit by 34.5% to EUR83.25 million, while its consolidated revenue decreased by 1.1% to EUR612.15 million.
In the first quarter of this year, the agricultural holding’s revenue fell by 24.9% to EUR124.58 million, while net profit fell by 28.8% to EUR6.42 million.
On June 12 this year, the shareholders’ meeting approved the payment of dividends for 2024 in the amount of EUR0.5 per share for a total of EUR12.5 million, which is in line with the figures for the previous two years.
