In 2025, domestic pasta producers will, for the first time in the history of Ukraine’s independence, manufacture 50% of their products from durum wheat grown by domestic farmers, according to Rodion Rybchinsky, director of the Ukrainian Flour Millers Association.
“This year, for the first time, 50% of the durum wheat that we (pasta producers – IF-U) previously purchased abroad will be replaced by domestic wheat. If this trend continues, I think that Ukraine will stop importing durum wheat within the next two years,” he said at the Agro2Food Profit forum in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The expert attributed this import substitution to climate change in the country. Currently, the Mykolaiv, Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, and partially Vinnytsia regions are suitable for durum wheat production due to global warming, Rybchynskyi said.
The head of the industry association suggested that it is quite realistic that domestic processing enterprises will not be able to cope with the volume of durum wheat grown by farmers in the near future.
Rybchynskyi recalled that a mill is currently being built in the Lviv region to process durum wheat into pasta. At the same time, he noted that its capacity may not be sufficient to process all the durum wheat grown by farmers.
The head of the Ukrainian Flour Millers Association added that Ukrainian producers will definitely export such products, but the export volumes are unlikely to be comparable to those of Italy.
As reported, the private enterprise “Zakhidny Bug” is building Ukraine’s first mill that will process durum wheat, as well as a pasta factory. The mill is scheduled to start operating in October 2025, and the factory in September. The design capacity of the first stage of the mill is 80 tons per day for durum wheat and 150 tons per day for soft wheat varieties. The second phase will increase capacity by another 200 tons for durum and 300 tons for soft varieties. The total investment in the project will amount to UAH 1 billion.
Durum (Triticum durum – Latin) is a hard wheat with a high protein and gluten content, making it an ideal ingredient for pasta, bread, and other bakery products.
Kyiv Macaroni Factory LLC has mastered the production of a new type of product – bows – using previously installed equipment that had been idle for a long time, said the company’s owner, Alexander Barsuk.
“One of the most complex elements of pasta is butterflies (bows). Kyiv Pasta Factory has mastered the production of this product. This is not new equipment, although it is from a well-known European manufacturer. Previously, it refused to work, and everything was somehow wrong. They also blamed the flour. But we found better flour and set up production. The first batches already have a guaranteed order,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to the owner of the company, the new product will be packaged in 800-gram packages.
Answering customers’ questions about why the product is not packaged in kilogram packages, he explained that all packs on supermarket shelves should be the same size. The type of pasta – bows – is bulky and does not fit in a standard pack.
Mr. Borsuk added that the company is working on new types of pasta, which it will soon introduce to customers.
According to the website of the Kyiv Pasta Factory, which is part of the Yaroslav Group (Kyiv), it is the largest pasta company in Ukraine. Its products are supplied throughout the country and to neighboring countries.
In 2022, Kyivska Macaroni Factory LLC reduced its net loss to UAH 4.576 million from UAH 8.19 million a year earlier, and its revenue to UAH 103.244 million from UAH 116.906 million.
According to Yaroslav’s website, its production facilities include Yaroslav PE (Kyiv), Promin Factory (Dymer, Kyiv region), Boguslav Clothing Factory (Kyiv region), Steblivska Cotton Spinning and Weaving Factory (Cherkasy region), and Krolevets Clothing Factory (Sumy region).
The main specialization is the production of bed linen, rugs, blankets, mattresses, goods for children, and kitchen textiles.
Yaroslav’s director and owner, Oleksandr Borsuk, previously reported that he annually invests about $1 million in equipment and modernization of production facilities.
Ukrainian agricultural holding KSG Agro and pasta producer Makarony Polskie (Rzeszów, Poland) signed a letter of intent to establish cooperation in the field of trade in vegetable oil and grain, as well as cooperation in other areas of agricultural production.
Information about the conclusion of the relevant protocol was made public on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Monday evening.
According to the announcement, the parties intend to arrange the import of rapeseed and sunflower oil from Ukraine for their processing and sale in Poland and third countries.
It is clarified that the letter of intent is not a binding agreement, but only expresses the desire to start negotiations on mutual cooperation of the parties.
According to the website of the Polish company, Makarony Polskie is one of the largest manufacturers of pasta in the country. The company has production plants in Rzeszów and Częstochowa.
Its products are offered under the brands Makarony Polskie, Sorenti and Abak.
The vertically integrated holding KSG Agro is engaged in pig breeding, as well as production, storage, processing and sales of grain and oil crops. His land bank is about 21 thousand. ha in Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions.
According to the agricultural holding, it is among the top 5 pork producers in Ukraine.
In 2021, KSG Agro increased net profit 16 times compared to 2020 – to $20.27 million, revenue – by 44%, to $30.75 million, while doubling EBITDA – to $12.28 million.
