Agro Kar (Kropyvnytskyi) plans to start assembly-line production of tractors for agriculture in September this year in a new 2,000 sq m workshop currently under construction, said Dmytro Kysylevskyi, deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development.
“The Made in Ukraine economic policy gives birth to new plants. Companies that previously only imported or repaired equipment are becoming manufacturers thanks to government programs,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
The total investment in the project is about UAH 100 million.
Kysylevsky said that Agro Kar has already invested UAH 30 million in launching tractor production – post production involves the production of each tractor at a separate site.
He noted that to implement the project of launching a new workshop, Agro Kar raised UAH 30 million under the 5-7-9% affordable loan program. Another UAH 8 million will be received as a state grant for the processing industry to purchase a laser machine.
“If the company reaches the required degree of localization, it will be able to join the program to compensate 25% of the cost of Ukrainian-made agricultural machinery,” Kysylevsky notes.
He specifies that domestic manufacturers of spare parts and components will be involved. In particular, Agro Kar purchases hydraulics and distributors for tractors from Hydrosila (Kropyvnytskyi), radiator blocks from Promtransenergo (Sumy), lubricants from JV Yukoil (Zaporizhzhia), control cables from Technoprivod (Rivne), high-pressure hoses – Motorimpeks (Kalush), batteries – Ista-Center (Dnipro), glass – Safe Glass Factory (Berdychiv), polymers and rubber seals, tanks – Poly Plast, wires and harnesses – Mac Farmer (both Kropyvnytskyi).
In addition, negotiations are underway to adapt the production of Rosava tires (Bila Tserkva) and Consima wheels (Dnipro) to the requirements of the company.
“Currently, the production volume is 12 tractors per month. After the launch of conveyor production, the company plans to increase production to 50 machines per month,” said Kysilevsky.
According to its website, Agro Kar has been operating since 2009. Currently, it repairs and modernizes agricultural machinery and supplies spare parts for agricultural machinery, including John Deere, Wil Rich, Case, DMI, Great Plains, Kinze, and Kraus.
“Agro Car also produces spare parts for agricultural machinery.
According to opendatabot, in 2024, the company doubled its net profit compared to 2023, to UAH 4.8 million, with revenue growing by 45% to UAH 74.4 million.
The company is owned by two local entrepreneurs, Andriy Teplyuk (60%) and Oleksandr Pustylnyk (40%).
Imports of tractors to Ukraine in January-March 2024 amounted to $207.89 million, which is 2.8% less than in the same period last year, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published statistics, tractors were mainly imported from the United States (24.6% of total imports of this equipment, or $51.14 million), China (16.8% or almost $35 million), and Germany (16.2% or $33.8 million), while a year earlier it was Germany ($35.4 million), Poland ($28.3 million), and the Netherlands ($26.3 million).
At the same time, in March of this year, imports of tractors increased by 13.3% compared to March-2024 and by almost 51% compared to February-2025 – up to $98.62 million.
According to statistics, in the first quarter of this year, only $1.28 million worth of tractors were exported, mostly to Romania, Zambia, and the Czech Republic.
As reported, imports of tractors to Ukraine in 2024 amounted to almost $784 million, down 5.6% from a year earlier, while exports amounted to $5.44 million against $5.74 million.
Imports of tractors to Ukraine in January this year amounted to $43.87 million, which is 34% less than in the same month in 2023, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the statistics released by the agency, tractors were mainly imported from China (21.2% of total imports of this equipment, or $9.3 million), Germany (5.5%, or $12.4 million), and the United States (10.7%, or $4.7 million), while a year earlier it was Poland (19.5%), Germany (19.3%), and the Netherlands (11%).
According to the statistics, in January, tractors were exported for $0.56 million against $0.3 million a year earlier, mainly to Zambia (41.4%), Romania (36.2%), and the Czech Republic (14%).
Imports of tractors to Ukraine in 2024 amounted to almost $784 million, down 5.6% from a year earlier, while exports amounted to $5.44 million against $5.74 million.
Imports of tractors to Ukraine in January-November this year amounted to $722.53 million, which is almost 7% less than in the same period in 2023, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the statistics released by the agency, tractors were mainly imported from Germany (15.2% of total imports of this equipment, or $110 million), China (13.9%, or $100 million) and the United States (13.5%, or $97.3 million), while a year earlier it was Germany (17%), Poland (almost 16%) and the Netherlands (13%).
At the same time, in November, Ukraine imported tractors worth $61.9 million, up 33.6% compared to the same month last year.
According to the statistics, in January-November, tractors worth almost $5 million were exported, compared to $5.47 a year earlier, mainly to Moldova (25.8%), Kazakhstan (14.8%) and the Czech Republic (11.8%).
OKKO network has signed a new contract for the purchase of 30 tractor trucks from the Swedish manufacturer Scania with a total value of EUR 3.3 million.
“10 of these trucks have already been delivered to OKKO’s transport divisions, and another 20 units are expected to arrive in December,” the company said on its website on Friday.
At the beginning of 2024, the OKKO network has already purchased 22 SUPER R 460 truck tractors and 10 more Everlast tank semi-trailers. In total, in 2022-2024, about EUR 30 million was invested in the renewal of the fleet.
“Thus, over the past few years, OKKO’s fleet has been renewed by more than half,” the company said.
Currently, OKKO has more than 250 vehicles for the transportation of gasoline, diesel fuel, liquefied gas and bitumen. At the same time, the company donated some of the vehicles that were withdrawn from the fleet, but still suitable and additionally repaired, for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, these are eight tractor-trailers and fuel tanker semi-trailers, as well as two air refueling semi-trailers.
OKKO filling stations network is a part of OKKO Group. It is one of the largest filling stations networks in Ukraine, with about 400 filling stations.
The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.
Production of tractor, mounted and trailed mowers in Ukraine decreased 83.3% over 2017-2020 – from 3,590 items to 600 items, while their imports (excluding imports from China) tripled – from 1,430 items to 4,240 items, the current trend threatens to completely oust this domestic equipment from the Ukrainian market. This was announced by the national research center Institute of Agrarian Economics on the website on Thursday.
According to the institution, in 2017, production of mowers in Ukraine amounted to 3,590 items, in 2018 – 1,550 items, in 2019 – 1,110 items, in 2020 – 600 items, and in the first half of 2021 – 250 items.
At the same time, imports of this equipment to Ukraine (excluding imports from China) amounted to 1,430 items in 2017, some 1,550 items in 2018, some 3,530 items in 2019, and in 2020 – 4,240 items, while in the first half of 2021, some 3,190 items were imported.
Thus, in the first half of the year, the share of mowers produced in Ukraine was 7.2% in the Ukrainian market of this equipment, while in 2017 it was 10 times higher – 71.6%. The institute clarified that this statistics does not take into account data on mowers imported from China, given which the decrease in the share of Ukrainian equipment in the market may turn out to be even more significant.
“The current situation testifies to the gradual abandonment of domestic mowers in favor of foreign ones, a wide range of which allows an agricultural enterprise to choose equipment in accordance with its own capabilities and needs,” Institute of Agrarian Economics researcher Yaroslav Navrotsky is quoted in the report.
The researcher emphasized that in order to reduce the growing dependence on imports of machinery in general and mowers in particular, Ukraine needs to create favorable conditions for attracting foreign investors, as well as to establish production of world-class mowers in Ukraine by organizing joint ventures.
As reported, in January-July 2021, farmers received UAH 546 million from the state budget under the program of partial compensation for the cost of domestic agricultural machinery and equipment.
