The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) approved a $40 million loan agreement for a 10-year term for one of the subsidiaries of Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, Astarta Agricultural Holding.
“DFC will co-finance with the International Finance Corporation capital investments and operating expenses related to the construction of a soybean protein concentrate (SPC) plant,” the agricultural holding company said.
According to Vyacheslav Chuk, director of commercial operations and strategic marketing at the agricultural holding, in September 2025, Astarta intends to continue investing in the construction of its soy protein concentrate plant in 2026, with investments amounting to approximately EUR 40 million.
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/day (approximately 100,000 tons/year) in the Hlobyn Industrial Complex (Poltava region). The agricultural holding will invest over 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 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.
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, has commissioned another building for keeping heifers aged two to six months in the Poltava region as part of a large-scale reconstruction of dairy farms, the agricultural holding’s press service reported.
“This is part of a major infrastructure renewal program that Astarta continues to implement throughout 2025. The company is modernizing farms, introducing new animal husbandry technologies, improving energy efficiency, and working to improve livestock genetics. In total, Astarta invested about UAH 543 million in this area during the 11 months of 2025. Last year, about UAH 300 million was invested in the reconstruction and modernization of the industry,” the agricultural holding said, adding that these measures are aimed at increasing production efficiency.
The building has been reconstructed in compliance with requirements for room layout, animal density, microclimate, and sanitary and hygienic conditions, which reduce dependence on external resources and make the farm more autonomous.
Astarta systematically invests in upgrading livestock infrastructure, improving animal welfare, applying modern technologies, and increasing energy efficiency. The opening of each new facility is another step towards strengthening the competitiveness of our livestock farming, implementing good animal welfare practices, and strengthening the company’s production base,” said Yaroslav Kushnir, Director of Astarta’s Livestock Department.
The company is convinced that systematic work on the development of livestock farming yields stable results — the agricultural holding remains the largest producer of industrial milk in Ukraine.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine and the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares and 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.
A new free certified course has been launched on the AgriAcademy educational platform: ‘Peas. Biological characteristics of the crop’, dedicated to one of Ukraine’s key legumes. The curriculum has been developed by specialists from the agro-industrial holding company Astarta.
What is the course about?
The new training module takes a detailed look at the biological characteristics of peas that determine their yield potential. Students will learn:
The course will be useful for both practicing agronomists and managers, students or farmers who want to improve their approach to pea cultivation technology.
Who created the course?
The lead expert is Volodymyr Kuryachiy, one of the most renowned agronomists in the Poltava region with over 40 years of experience in production. At the Astarta-Kyiv agricultural holding, he headed the crop production department of the Dovzhenko Agricultural Firm for over ten years and has been working as the chief agronomist of the Poltava region since 2019.
The following people also worked on the course:
Certificate and accessibility
All AgriAcademy courses, including this one, are free of charge.
Students receive:
The course is available at any time, allowing farmers to study at their convenience without taking time off from their daily work.
Why is this important?
The demand for legumes is growing both due to the development of export markets and the need to restore soil fertility. Peas remain one of the most effective crops in crop rotation, and a proper understanding of their biology directly affects yield stability even in difficult climatic conditions.
The new course from Astarta and AgriAcademy provides agricultural producers with practical, scientifically based knowledge that can be applied as early as next season.
Farmers can join via the link on the AgriAcademy platform and start learning immediately after registration.
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 programme 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 supported and financed by the EBRD, as well as:
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, earned EUR43.70 million in net profit in January-September 2025, down 42.2% from the same period last year.
As noted in the company’s report to the Warsaw Stock Exchange, net profit in the third quarter of this year amounted to EUR 1.43 million, which is 20 times less than in the third quarter of last year.
According to the document, Astarta’s revenue for the nine months decreased by 22.4% to EUR342.78 million, although in the third quarter, compared to the same period last year, the decrease was only 3.8% to EUR116.16 million.
At the same time, due to the increase in production costs and a smaller increase in the net value of biological assets, gross profit for the nine months decreased by 34.2% to EUR121.05 million, while in the third quarter, it fell by 48.8% to EUR29.34 million.
As a result, EBITDA for the nine months amounted to EUR101.46 million, which is 22.9% less than for the nine months of last year.
Astarta specified that, excluding the impact of IAS41, the gross margin was 33% (-4 p.p. year-on-year), while the EBITDA margin even increased by 3 p.p. to 28%.
It is also noted that operating cash flow for the period decreased 3.6 times compared to the same period last year, to EUR 37.41 million, mainly due to the previous reduction in inventories, while investment cash flow doubled compared to the same period last year, to EUR75.44 million, with the largest investments made in the soybean processing and agriculture segments.
According to the published data, the main source of income for the agricultural holding in the reporting period was agriculture, which provided 33% of this income, or EUR112 million (-23% compared to the same period last year).
Sugar production accounted for 32% of Astarta’s revenue, or EUR 108 million (-36% compared to the same period last year).
Revenue from soybean processing remained stable at EUR 77 million, accounting for 22% of Astarta’s consolidated revenue. Revenue from livestock farming increased by 14% compared to the same period last year, reaching EUR 42 million, or 12% of total sales for the nine months of 2025.
Export revenue amounted to EUR 218 million, or 63% of sales.
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 Globino (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, while its consolidated revenue fell 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.
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, reduced revenue from sales of its key products by 22% to EUR343 million in January-September 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
According to data published by the holding on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the main source of income for the agricultural holding in the reporting period was agriculture, which provided 33% of this income, or EUR112 million (-23% compared to the same period last year).
Sugar production accounted for 32% of Astarta’s revenue, or EUR 108 million (-36% compared to the same period last year).
Revenue from soybean processing remained stable at EUR77 million, accounting for 22% of Astarta’s consolidated revenue. Revenue from livestock farming increased by 14% compared to the same period last year to EUR42 million, or 12% of total sales for the first nine months of 2025.
Export revenue amounted to EUR218 million, or 63% of sales.
Gross profit amounted to EUR121 million (-34% year-on-year) with a corresponding gross margin, which decreased to 35% compared to 42% in 2024.
EBITDA amounted to EUR101 million, down 23% year-on-year, with EBITDA margin stable at 30%.
Excluding the impact of IAS41, gross margin was 33% (-4 p.p. year-on-year) and EBITDA margin was 28% for the first nine months of 2025.
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 and 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.
The sugar factories of Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, have processed 1.2 million tons of sugar beets since the start of the sugar season, according to the agro-holding’s press service.
“The sugar season continues! Astarta’s sugar factories have already processed 1.2 million tons of beets,” the agricultural holding company said on Facebook.
Astarta did not report on the volume of sugar produced, but specified that the harvesting campaign is currently underway in the agroholding’s fields.
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 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.
