The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has approved a loan of up to $40 million for Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, at the sub-council level.
“(The loan) will assist in the construction and operation of a soy protein processing plant with a projected annual capacity of about 100,000 tons and help Astarta make other investments,” DFC said on its website.
At the same time, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group announced at the end of November 2024 that it was considering a $40 million loan to Astarta and a parallel $40 million loan for the construction of a soy protein concentrate plant in Poltava region. The recipient of the funds is Astarta Agro Protein LLC, a subsidiary of Astarta Holding plc.
It was noted that IFC has already assisted the agricultural holding in conducting market research, preparing a business plan for the project, and assessing its commercial viability in order to interact with potential investors.
Initially, the IFC Board of Directors planned to consider this project on December 20, but then postponed it to February 28, 2025.
As reported, in 2024, Astarta began investing in the construction of a plant for processing soybean meal into soy protein concentrate with a capacity of 500 tons per day (about 100 thousand tons per year) in the Globinsky Industrial Complex (Poltava region). The agricultural holding will invest over EUR 76 million in equipment and technology and 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. As part of the agreement, the government will provide the agricultural holding with a number of incentives, including exemptions from import duties on new equipment, import VAT on new equipment and income tax for up to 5 years.
IFC recalled that Astarta commissioned a soybean processing plant in Globyno in December 2013. In 2023, it processed 232 thousand tons of soybeans, 73% of which were grown by the agricultural holding, and produced 172 thousand tons of soybean meal. In the first half of 2024, the share of the plant’s own raw materials increased to 90%.
Soybean concentrate is produced by processing soybean meal with higher added value. It serves as a raw material for the production of animal feed.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR618.93 million.
In 2024, the enterprises of Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, paid UAH 2.25 billion in taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels and, according to the State Tax Service, were included in the list of taxpayers with a high level of voluntary compliance with tax legislation – the White Business Club.
According to the agricultural holding’s press service on its Facebook page, more than UAH 1.47 billion of this amount was paid to local budgets of territorial communities in Poltava, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine. The state budget received over UAH 776 million.
“During the full-scale war, Astarta has transferred UAH 6.1 billion to the budgets of all levels and we will continue to do so. Conscientious payment of taxes in wartime is not just a duty, it is also a demonstration of self-recharge and unity of Ukrainian business, which helps to accelerate Ukraine’s victory and its economic recovery afterwards,” said Astarta’s founder and CEO Victor Ivanchyk.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, has completed the processing season of 2024, which lasted 133 days and was marked by a number of records, the company’s press service reports on its Facebook page.
“Astarta’s five sugar factories produced 380 thousand tons of sugar, which is the highest figure in the holding over the past seven years. In total, the companies processed more than 2.5 million tons of sugar beet grown on the fields of the agro-industrial holding and by our partners, agricultural producers,” the statement said.
Despite the difficulties with the quality of raw materials caused by abnormal weather conditions, the holding’s sugar yield was 14.96% (the average value in Ukraine was 14.06% as of January 01, 2025). According to the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine, this is the best industry indicator in the 2024 processing season.
“An important event of the season was the commissioning of a new sugar storage silo with a capacity of 60 thousand tons. This will significantly improve the quality of sugar storage and optimize logistics,” Astarta added.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
The team of Astarta Agro Holding, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, has successfully conducted a review audit to confirm the effectiveness of actions required to support the UN World Food Program (WFP), the press service of the agricultural holding reported on Facebook.
According to the report, WFP representatives confirmed the safety of the products supplied by the holding under various humanitarian programs after an on-site audit at one of the company’s sugar factories this fall.
“Astarta has been successfully cooperating with the UN World Food Program since the beginning of 2022. During this time, we have supplied about 18 thousand tons of products for humanitarian missions in Ukraine. Thanks to the involvement of new reliable small and medium-sized business producers in Ukraine – members of the holding’s agro-industrial ecosystem – Astarta has increased the volume and range of products that meet the needs of humanitarian aid, and in addition to sugar, it has become possible to supply canned beans and oatmeal,” the agricultural holding said.
“Astarta assured that it will maintain the volume and pace of current deliveries and expand cooperation with other Ukrainian producers in the framework of cooperation with WFP to provide food to people in emergencies, as well as work to improve the quality of food for its supply to vulnerable populations both in Ukraine and abroad.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, has invested more than UAH 410 million in modernizing its livestock enterprises since the start of the full-scale invasion, its press service reported on Facebook.
“During the war, livestock farming has become a pillar of food security and economic stability for businesses. In particular, we managed to compensate for the decline in exports due to the Russian blockade of seaports at the beginning of the full-scale invasion by using milk processed and sold in Ukraine,” Yaroslav Kushnir, director of Astarta’s livestock department, explained in a statement.
It was specified that the agricultural holding will continue to consolidate and reconstruct existing facilities, build new ones, and work with breeding and genetics, which will help to increase the economic efficiency of the segment, herd productivity and optimize livestock management.
Kushnir noted that Astarta is the largest producer of industrial milk in Ukraine with an annual production of 115 thousand tons. The company’s cattle herd totals more than 28 thousand heads.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 mln, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 mln, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 mln.
German investment company Connect GmbH & Co. geschlossene Invest KG (Connect) will provide Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, with a €5 million loan for seven years to modernize its sugar factories, the company’s website reports.
“The agreement is financed by the ImpactConnect program, which includes any Connect financing and financing programs established by the German government. The purpose of this financing is to maintain, develop and modernize Astarta’s sugar factories,” the statement said.
The agricultural holding added that the financing will be provided to one of Astarta’s subsidiaries, but did not specify its name.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares and dairy farms with 22,000 cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.