"Kernel," one of the largest agricultural holdings in Ukraine, exported 6 million tons of grains during the 2023/24 marketing year (MY, July 2023 - June 2024) compared to 8 million tons before the war, while oil exports reached 1.4 million tons, slightly exceeding pre-war levels. However, the geography of exports had to be significantly altered, reported the director of government relations at Kernel, Ekaterina Spivakova.
"There have been serious changes in geography. These are mainly related to the loss of the Chinese market. Traditionally, China was a very large market for us because it imported this non-GMO corn, which could only be produced in such volumes by Ukraine," she said at the "Agricultural Sector 2025: Challenges and Opportunities in New Realities" conference organized by the We Build Ukraine analytical center in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to Spivakova, corn accounted for 60% of the agricultural holding's exports in the 2023/24 MY, while wheat constituted 20%, with the remainder made up of other crops.
"Currently, the geography looks like this: for grains, 27% was European import before the war, and now it’s 52%, which means a twofold increase. The situation is similar for oil: 15% was exported to EU countries before the war, and now it’s 30%. By the way, our main European countries are Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands," she clarified about the export geography during wartime.
At the same time, Spivakova dispelled the stereotype regarding Ukrainian agricultural holdings that European farmers have formed. According to her, Ukrainian agricultural holdings are now maximizing cooperation with small and medium-sized farmers.
"We are very interested in the development of small and medium enterprises because we only grow 10% of what we export ourselves, while 90% we purchase on the market. We work with about 800 farms. We are highly interested in their development. We have programs to stimulate the growth of small and medium agricultural enterprises, particularly OpenAgribusiness, which currently has around 100 participants," emphasized the representative of Kernel.
She also highlighted that considering Ukraine's desire to meet all European requirements and standards, the EU should be interested in having Ukraine among its agricultural producers.
Kernel is the largest exporter of sunflower oil in the world and one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. Additionally, it engages in growing agricultural products and their sale.
Kernel's net profit for the 2023 fiscal year amounted to $299 million, whereas the previous year, the company ended with a net loss of $41 million. The agricultural holding's revenue for the 2023 fiscal year decreased by 35% to $3.455 billion; however, EBITDA increased 2.5 times to $544 million.
In the first nine months of the 2024 fiscal year, the agricultural holding's net profit fell by 53% to $204 million, with a revenue decline of 4% to $2.595 billion, while its EBITDA dropped by 36% to $384 million.