The Kernel agricultural holding’s elevator network, in fiscal year 2026 (FY, July 2025–June 2026) accepted more than 1 million metric tons of grain from third-party agricultural producers for the first time following the implementation of a new business model, under which the company opened its elevators for commercial storage and logistics services, the holding’s press service reported.
“Thanks to a shift in our approach to partnerships and our willingness to share our infrastructure, we were able to attract record volumes of grain,” the press service quoted Serhiy Shcherban, head of Kernel’s storage department, as saying.
According to him, competing in this market requires not just available storage space, but a guarantee of prompt acceptance, legally sound terms, and predictable logistics.
According to Kernel’s report for the first nine months of 2026 FR, the volume of grain and oilseeds accepted into the elevator network increased by 50% compared to the same period in the 2025 fiscal year—reaching 4.02 million metric tons. This includes 2.29 million metric tons accepted in January–March of this year, compared to just 0.09 million metric tons in January–March of last year.
According to the 2025F report, Kernel owns Ukraine’s largest private network of grain storage facilities, with a one-time storage capacity of 2.2 million metric tons.
The company explained that previously, the elevator network primarily served the holding’s own needs, but now it also works with independent agricultural producers. To this end, the agricultural holding revised its pricing policy, expanded its range of services, and introduced digital monitoring of grain movement—from electronic queuing to receipt and shipment.
In addition, Shcherban assured that during the current season, the company will pass on to third-party clients only the increase in electricity costs, while Kernel will cover all other additional operating expenses itself.
The Kernel agricultural holding is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, Ukraine’s largest grain exporter, the operator of an extensive network of logistics assets, and a leading producer of grains and oilseeds in Ukraine. It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. It is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
According to results for the first nine months of fiscal year 2026 (July 2025–March 2026), Kernel’s net profit decreased by 5% to $208 million, while its revenue increased by 0.4% to $3.092 billion, and EBITDA rose by 1% to $403 million.
agricultural producer, GRAIN, GRAIN ELEVATOR, KERNEL, LOGISTICS
“Lubnymash” (Poltava Oblast), a manufacturer of grain elevators and related equipment, has begun construction of a 6,000-square-meter production complex, which will allow it to nearly double its total storage capacity to over 1 million metric tons of grain per year, said Dmytro Kysilevsky, deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development.
“The new site will produce large-capacity silos—up to 50,000 cubic meters. Investment in the new project totals $2 million,” he wrote on Facebook on Thursday, adding that the plant in Lubny currently produces silos with a total storage capacity of up to 600,000 metric tons of grain annually.
Kisilevsky noted that the company secured additional investment resources through its participation in a program that reimburses 25% of the cost of Ukrainian agricultural machinery products.
According to the MP, in 2025, the “Lubnymash” plant produced grain storage facilities, silos, and grain bunkers worth over 1 billion hryvnias. The products are exported to European Union markets, and the African market holds great promise for the Ukrainian manufacturer.
The company employs 420 people.
Kysilevsky noted that the program to compensate farmers for 25% of the cost of Ukrainian agricultural machinery—part of the “Made in Ukraine” policy to support Ukrainian manufacturers—was in effect from 2017 to 2022 and was subsequently reinstated starting in 2024.
The 2026 state budget allocates 1.8 billion hryvnias for this program.
According to information on its website, “Lubnymash” is one of the leading companies in the design and manufacture of equipment for grain and grain products. It produces metal silos, grain dryers, conveyors, bucket elevators, and metal structures.
According to data from YouControl, in January–March of this year, the plant increased its net profit 3.3-fold compared to the same period in 2025—to 13.2 million UAH—as net revenue grew 3.4-fold to 288.4 million UAH.
Volodymyr Kudryk owns 100% of the authorized capital of Lubnymash.
KMZ Industries (Karliv Machine-Building Plant, Poltava Oblast) will install a Brice-Baker grain drying complex for an agricultural producer in Zhytomyr Oblast that is developing its own post-harvest grain processing infrastructure, the plant announced.
“The project involves the installation of a Brice-Baker grain dryer and the necessary conveyor equipment, which will ensure grain transportation and the complex’s uninterrupted operation,” according to a statement on the plant’s website.
KMZ notes that thanks to the new equipment, the farm will be able to dry grain independently, optimize production processes, and reduce logistics costs.
“More and more farmers are realizing that having their own grain dryer means they can be independent of third-party grain elevators. It allows them to independently plan grain drying and shipping schedules, avoid seasonal queues, and avoid rushing to sell the harvest immediately after harvesting, when prices are usually at their lowest,” said Yuriy Musienko, regional manager of KMZ Industries, as quoted in the statement.
KMZ Industries has noted a rise in demand for grain drying complexes among farming operations.
According to the plant, in June it also completed the manufacture and installation of a Brice-Baker grain dryer for a company in the Kirovohrad region that specializes in processing soybeans, sunflowers, and rapeseed.
A key feature of the project was the use of steam as a heat source for drying grain and oilseeds, which allows the grain dryer to be integrated into the enterprise’s existing production processes and maximizes the use of available energy resources.
The scope of delivery included a grain dryer with a dust suppression system, an automated process control system, a power supply system, an axial fan with a noise silencer, and a set of sensors for monitoring temperature and process parameters.
The dryer’s rated capacity when processing different crops is up to 28 metric tons per hour for wheat, up to 16 metric tons per hour for corn, and up to 14 metric tons per hour for sunflower seeds, depending on the initial moisture content of the grain.
“The key challenge in this project was to integrate the new grain dryer into the company’s existing production cycle and ensure efficient operation in tandem with existing equipment. That is why we did not simply supply the equipment, but offered a solution that takes into account the customer’s current technology and its potential for future development,” said Regional Manager Anton Goncharuk, as quoted in the press release.
KMZ Industries is the largest manufacturer of grain storage equipment in Ukraine and produces a full range of products, including silos, grain dryers, conveying equipment, and separators, as well as providing automation and installation services.
According to the company, it has built over 5,000 facilities.
According to data from YouControl, in January–March of this year, the plant increased its net revenue by 70.7% compared to the first quarter of 2025—to 96.7 million UAH—while its loss increased by 23%—to 34 million UAH.
agricultural producer, Brice-Baker, GRAIN DRYER, GRAIN ELEVATOR, KMZ INDUSTRIES
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has granted approval to Olimp LLC to acquire control over the assets of ADM Ukraine LLC in the form of a single property complex (grain elevator), the agency announced on Facebook.
According to the regulator, the facility in question provides grain storage services.
According to market participants, the subject of the deal is the “Kam’yansky” grain elevator in the Cherkasy region. The facility has a storage capacity of 64,000 tons in metal silos and floor storage facilities.
Once the deal is finalized, ADM Ukraine will effectively have no remaining grain storage assets in Ukraine. The company previously lost control of the “Tavriysky” elevator due to Russia’s military aggression.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is an American agribusiness corporation headquartered in Chicago, operating in 200 countries. The company specializes in the production of food ingredients, animal feed, and biofuels, as well as in the processing, storage, and logistics of agricultural products. Its product portfolio includes grains, oilseeds, flour, starches, vegetable fats, and logistics services through its ADM Logistics division. In Ukraine, the corporation is represented by ADM Ukraine LLC.
OLIMP LLC is a Ukrainian agribusiness company with a land bank of 36,000 hectares in the Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, and Cherkasy regions. It specializes in crop production (corn, wheat, soybeans, sunflowers), livestock farming, processing, and trading. Its asset portfolio includes six processing facilities (mills, bakeries, canning plants), the “Olimp” and “Olimp-Agro” grain elevators, as well as the Kamyansky Machine-Building Plant. According to data from the YouControl analytical system, the company’s beneficial owners are Volodymyr Hetsko and Yuriy Moskalyk.
Astarta agricultural holding in July 2019 started accepting grain at Semenivsky elevator (Poltava region) with a capacity of 120,000 tonnes and investments of $19.2 million, the press service of the holding has said. According to the report, this elevator is the largest one in Astarta’s structure. It is designed to accept grain from the agricultural holding’s farms and from partners.
The construction of the elevator lasted nine months, it can ship over 54 wagons of grain per day. According to the company, Astarta has seven grain elevators in Poltava, Vinnytsia and Khmelnytsky regions with a total capacity of 550,000 tonnes of grain. As reported, in March 2019 Astarta bought an elevator in Khmelnytsky region for EUR4.6 million.
Astarta after three years of profitable work in 2018 received a net loss of EUR21.11 million. Its revenue decreased by 18.8%, to EUR372.22 million, EBITDA by 2.1 times, to EUR56.87 million.
