It is rather habitually for Ukraine to witness coming of foreign companies on the domestic agricultural market. The inner market of the country has already accepted such companies as Cargill, Bunge, Glencore and etc. And the next leader of the world agrarian business decided to conquer Ukrainian market.
In the middle of November, more precisely on November 16, in Kiev, Canadian company Viterra presented own entering on the agrarian market of Ukraine.
Viterra Inc. - the large scale agrarian company in Canada. The company deals with production and trading with grains, provides financial services. The company controls exports of over 50% of grains, produced in the country. Viterra Inc. was created in 2007 as a result of merging of companies Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Agricore United. In 2008, the proceeds totaled 5.2 bln USD, net profit - 2.2 bln USD, EBITDA - 204 mln USD.
The company comes to the group of five largest world companies, trading with grains. Dealing with oilseeds and grains production in Western Canada, the company sells agricultural products to countries of Asia, America and Europe. The company owns enterprises for production of material and technical resources, storing and shipment capacities for agricultural products, fat-and-oil and mixed fodder enterprises. The company has representative offices in Japan, Switzerland, Singapore and the USA. During recent years, Viterra started investing in agro industrial complexes of other countries of the world.
The business of Viterra was already presented in Ukraine through Australian company ABB, which founded the joint venture with Ukrainian subsidiary of the international agro industrial company Soufflet Group in 2007. In September 2009, Viterra declared about purchasing of the leading world trader with barley - the company АВВ at the sum of 1.4 bln USD, and all assets of the company in Australia.
According to Sergey Stoyanov, the General director of Ukrainian agrarian confederation, to date, representatives of the company plans to develop agrarian business, grains and oilseed processing, purchase and construct elevators, port terminals in Ukraine, trade with Ukrainian grains on the world market. At the same time, they are interested in exports of barley, buckwheat, rapeseed.
Ukrainian agricultural producers, companies and etc. will only win from the appearance of such large-scale player on the market, declared Rodion Rybchynskiy, the analyst of APK-Inform Agency. The company will have to negotiate with grain suppliers, pay money, and load elevator capacities. The county has enough agricultural land areas for working with such companies.
According to Vladimir Klimenko, the President of Ukrainian grain association, Ukraine became rather popular among transnational agricultural companies. Last year, such large-scale agricultural traders as Noble Group and CHS Inc. started working in the country. To date, CHS provides modernization of own port shipment complex, which will be launched in March 2010.
CHS Inc. is the diversified gas, grain and food company. Farmers and cooperatives are the owners of CHS, NASDAQ trades with 8% of the preference stocks. CHS provides energy, batteries, grains, food products and ingredients, and business solutions, including insurance, financing and risk management services. The company owns petroleum-refining enterprises and pipelines. The company takes 144 place in the list of 500 leading companies of Fortune in 2008. In the financial year, ending on August 31 2008. the proceeds totaled 32.2 bln USD, net profit - 803 mln USD. The annual grain circulation of CHS exceeds the level of 27 mln tonnes.
Noble Group is the company with the headquarters in Hong Kong, which manages the system of agricultural products supplies, and also other raw materials. In 2008, the company increased own earnings by 54% - to 36.1 bln USD, and net profit - by 2.2 times, to 577 mln USD. Last year, trading with agricultural products provided 9.9 bln USD to the company, logistics services - 1.6 bln USD.
Noble Resources Ukraine LLC is the daughter company of Noble Group Limited. The company deals with purchasing and storing of agricultural products in Ukraine, provides exports of the products.
According to market experts, to date, many large-scale foreign companies are interested in coming on Ukrainian market. Ukraine comes to the group of three leading grain exporters. For example, in 2008/09 МY, grain exports from the country totaled over 25 mln tonnes, which broke the record during recent nine seasons. Also, the country became the world leader in sunflower oil exports, and increased own export volumes of the product by 58.5%. Sunflower seed export volumes grew by 10 times. Besides, Ukrainian agricultural lands provide excellent harvests of grains and oilseeds. Thus, growing of agricultural crops in Ukraine is rather profitable business.
Viktoria Sorokopud
