USAID Improves UGTC Trade’s Grain Loading Operations at the Port

AGRI-Ukraine Export Logistics Support
26 November 2024

USAID, through its Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), delivered a mobile loader with feed hoppers to UGTC Trade. The equipment is installed in Odesa Oblast and will strengthen UGTC Trade’s grain and oilseed loading capabilities, shorten the logistics chain from producer to end recipient, and enable the company to offer better prices to agricultural producers.

The new mobile loader will support UGTC Trade to export approximately 30,000 tons of grain monthly. Before receiving the equipment, they either used third-party services to load the ships or sold products on “Free Carrier” (FCA) terms, handing grain to other companies with loading facilities that handled the port operations. This arrangement limited UGTC Trade’s ability to offer better prices to farmers, as they had to factor in the additional costs. Now, with the new USAID-provided equipment, UGTC Trade can independently handle loading operations and offer better prices to agricultural producers, creating a shorter logistics chain from producer to end recipient.

Despite Russia’s constant attacks on Odesa Oblast, UGTC Trade maintains stable operations.

Background: Assistance to agricultural producers and infrastructure companies is part of the Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI) – Ukraine, implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It aims to help Ukraine increase its capacity to produce, store, transport, and export grain.

UCAB and ERA Host a Hybrid Seminar at Global Grain Geneva 2024

AGRI-Ukraine Export Logistics Support
22 November 2024

On November 12, USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) representative, Thomas O’Callaghan, Supply Chain and Export Logistics Lead, and Alex Lissitsa, President of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), Chairman of the Board of IMC, facilitated the seminar, “Grain Exports: Expanding Sales Channels & New Opportunities from Ukraine,” at the Fastmarkets Global Grain Geneva 2024 conference.

At the seminar, 16 Ukrainian grain exporters pitched and shared their company profiles, their experiences on how the Ukrainian grain sector has adapted during the full-scale invasion, logistical disruptions, and economic instability. Ukraine is ready and willing to tackle new and existing markets with vigor with their improved logistical supply chains, as evidenced by the reputable growers and shippers in attendance at the conference and in Switzerland, highlighting their resiliency.

◾ Agrochemtechnology ◾ Agroprosperis GroupAGROTRADE GROUPAstarta-KyivGRAIN ALLIANCEContinental Farmers GroupEridonAgro Region ◾ Hermes-Trading ◾ IMC ◾ LNZ Group (UA)OKKO GROUP ◾ Risoil Ukraine ◾ ТАС АгроTradex Agri GroupUGTC TRADE

Ukrainian Companies Attend Global Grain Geneva 2024 to Promote Exports

AGRI-Ukraine Export Logistics Support
15 November 2024

On November 12-14, the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) with Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) attended Fastmarkets Global Grain Geneva 2024 conference to promote Ukraine’s grain export capabilities and to seek new commercial opportunities for UCAB members on the global grain market. More than 800 participants from 500 companies and over 55 countries attended this prestigious event.

Importers, traders, brokers, shippers, policy makers and other sector stakeholders joined and used this international platform to expand networking opportunities, build relationships, gather valuable market insights and expand commercial activity in agricultural commodities markets.

UCAB’s booth enabled delegates from various countries within the supply chain to meet directly with 16 Ukrainian exporters and companies to discuss commercial sales opportunities for new and existing markets.

ERA’s Supply Chain and Export Logistics Lead, Thomas O’Callaghan, attended and noted, “Global Grain Geneva provides Ukrainian exporters a valuable opportunity to meet directly with key commercial decision makers in the global grain and oilseed trade. Over the course of three days, the UCAB stand facilitated commercial connectivity and face-to-face meetings with 82 international trading and shipping companies located in 27 countries across the world. This event not only gave Ukrainian exporters the chance to articulate in person the value of Ukrainian grain and oilseed products, it also gave international buyers a better understanding of the ongoing opportunities and value proposition to source directly from producers within Ukraine’s largest export sector”.

USAID ERA Delivers 2nd Pilot Boat to Increase Shipping Capacity on the Danube 

AGRI-Ukraine Export Logistics Support
07 November 2024

USAID, through its Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), delivered a second pilot boat to the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) to improve the efficiency and safety of pilots moving to and from vessels navigating the Danube ports. The pilot boat, Lotsman Bolotin, will replace the outdated pilot boat, Aldebaran, to transport maritime pilots 16% faster to arriving and departing export vessels, ultimately reducing delays and increasing agricultural export turnover to get grain to global markets.

The pilot boat was built in Izmir, Turkey and is specially designed to operate in enclosed harbors and rivers, which is particularly important for ensuring pilot operations in the ports of the Danube region. The pilot boat can accommodate 8 pilots and 2 crew members onboard and move as fast as 32 km/hour; however, the average operational speed is around 15 km/hour. At the average speed, the boat can operate for up to three days without refueling. The 15-meter pilot boat is made of marine grade aluminum and painted orange, making it visible on the water under any conditions. The boat features a wide range of European and American equipment featuring two American Cummins engines  and two Alamarin waterjets from Finland.

 Lotsman Bolotin is named after Captain Borys Bolotin (1940-2019), a first-class maritime pilot who served as both the Deputy Head (2009-2013) and Head of Danube Unified Sea Pilotage Service of Delta Lotsman (2004-2009). After graduating from Kherson Maritime Lyceum, he dedicated his life to maritime shipping on the Danube. He is buried in Izmail.

Next month, ERA will deliver the third pilot boat, Lotsman Cheberiakov, also being built in Izmir.

Recently, the second pilot boat USAID is building for USPA, named Pilot Cheberiakov, successfully completed sea trials. In total, USPA will receive three pilot boats to further strengthen the export capacity of the Ukrainian economy on the Danube and Black Sea ports.

Background: Assistance to agricultural producers and infrastructure companies is part of the Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI) – Ukraine, implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It aims to help Ukraine increase its capacity to produce, store, transport, and export grain.

AGRI Export Partnership Specialist

AGRI-Ukraine Export Logistics Support
04 November 2024

Kyiv

ERA BACKGROUND 

Ukraine’s efforts to win the future – emerging from Russia’s full-scale war ready to accelerate its development as a sovereign, independent, democratic, and prosperous state – require a dynamic, inclusive economic recovery. Through partnerships with the government and robust private sector engagement, ERA has supported economic growth and resilience in Ukraine since 2018. Following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and subsequent occupation of the part of Ukraine, ERA shifted from its focus on Eastern Ukraine to cover development priorities across the country that address Ukraine’s urgent needs in export logistics and infrastructural improvements.

AGRI-UKRAINE GRAIN EXPORT LOGISTICS

USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) is one of USAID’s core partners implementing the $350 million Agriculture Resilience Initiative – Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine) that was established in 2022 to bolster Ukrainian agricultural exports and alleviate the global food security crisis exacerbated by the war. Under AGRI-Ukraine, ERA partners with public and private companies to complement and leverage urgently-needed grain transportation and transshipment investments.

INFRASTRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENTS

ERA also directly supports the Government of Ukraine, including the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (SARDI), the State Customs Service and Ukrainian Railways, to upgrade 42 of Ukraine’s border crossing points (BCPs). Modern and more efficient border infrastructure and customs procedures will reduce export costs and increase export capacity, enabling Ukraine to scale trade and advance its path to EU integration.

ENERGY AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE (EER) SUPPORT

As one of USAID’s most flexible activities that responds to emerging and/or emergency needs, ERA is expanding its interventions that assist Ukraine businesses, communities or individuals in the fall and winter (September 2024-December 2025). The goal is to minimize the impact on the Ukrainian people and economy given recent power deficits. This is an adaptive component and ERA may also need to respond to other emergency needs in the face of ongoing Russian aggression and attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.

About the Job

AGRI Export Partnership Specialist will be responsible for coordinating and providing necessary data and information to support colleagues in developing effective market linkages between Ukrainian Agriculture Commodity exporters and international commodity buyer. This role is focused on enhancing export performance and productivity. The AGRI Export Partnership Specialist will assist to develop and coordinate capacity building interventions in collaboration with Technical and Operations teams. The role ensures that all activities are implemented according to schedule, with accuracy and to high quality standards, and for monitoring and reporting on their progress. The AGRI Export Partnership Specialist is based Kyiv and reports to International Market Linkages Senior Coordinator.

Responsibilities:

Export Capacity Enhancement:

  • Liaise with the Supply Chain and Logistics Lead and other colleagues to maintain up-to-date market and activity information,
  • Analyze the private agricultural market and propose partnership strategies with selected beneficiaries,
  • Contribute to project planning, monitor progress, and ensure objectives are met within budget and time constraints,
  • Determine content adoption metrics and define marketing and trade enablement best practices,
  • Provide analysis and technical input on solutions developed for implementation of international programs and market linkages initiatives,
  • Verify potential reputational and compliance risks (Know-Your-Client) from the open sources,
  • Manage the repository of sales, trade, and marketing enablement content to ensure easy accessibility.

Content Management, Knowledge and Capacity Building:

  • Conduct field visits or other business trips within Ukraine for due diligence, visibility check, preparation of USAID meetings and other request,
  • Communicate with stakeholder to understand and respond to their needs in international trade training programs, with particular focus on supply chain development, and commodity sales and marketing,
  • Develop customized marketing materials designed for publication and distribution within Ukraine and internationally to stakeholders in the global agricultural commodity marketplace,
  • Assist to organize and launch marketing campaign aiming to enhance export sales, marketing, and trade performance for Ukrainian agricultural commodities,
  • Develop success stories, case studies, and guides on marketing and trade,
  • Lead the organization of events for USAID ERA beneficiaries and participate in various international trade shows to maximize market linkage opportunities.

Job expectations:

In this position, you are expected to share the DAI four core values:

  • Integrity: commit to civil and ethical behavior, play by the rules, and do the right thing;
  • Responsibility: be accountable to clients, partners, grant recipients, beneficiaries, colleagues, and communities where we work. If you fall short, you own up, fix the problem, and get it right the next time;
  • Excellence: adhere to the highest technical and professional standards in innovation, learning, and service;
  • Global Citizenship: respect the cultural diversity and treat everyone everywhere with professionalism and dignity to make the world a better place.

About you:

  • Bachelor’s degree or higher in Project Management, Economics, Sales and Marketing, or related fields.
  • 6+ years private sector experience supporting sales and marketing or project coordination or management.
  • Excellent professional communications and negotiation skills and ability to work with people at all levels of an organization.
  • Ability to work both independently and in close cooperation with a remote team. Ability to work cross-functionally and internationally.
  • An energetic, forward-thinking, and creative individual with high ethical standards and an appropriate professional image.
  • A well-organized and self-directed individual with sound technical skills, analytical ability, good judgment, and strong operational focus. Ability to plan and meet specific deadlines.
  • Holder of a valid travel passport and able to travel in Ukraine, and out of Ukraine to potentially attend international export and trade events as needed.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills in both English and Ukrainian. Fluency in any other international languages relevant to the target geographies of AGRI’s market export initiatives is a plus (e.g. Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Italian or Spanish).

WE OFFER

Contract length: 12-month employment agreement with a possibility of extension.

Start date: December 2024.

Benefits Package:

  • 28 calendar days of annual leave
  • 10 days of internal well-being paid leave per year
  • Medical Insurance for ERA staff and their families
  • Life and Injury Insurance for ERA staff
  • Full coverage of all business trip related expenses.

Application process

All applicants must send a cover letter and updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English to ukraine@dai.com .

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or status as a protected veteran.

Closing date for applications: December 25, 2024.  

For further information about DAI GLOBAL LLC, please consult our website https://era-ukraine.org.ua/en/

USAID Improves Grain Transportation Capacity for Ukrainian Medium-Sized Agri Firms 

AGRI-Ukraine Export Logistics Support
25 October 2024

USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) provided five telehandlers to members of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Ukraine’s largest public association of more than 1,200 small and medium-sized agribusinesses from across the country. 

These telehandlers will bolster operations at Agrofirma Dzvony, Kushpit, AGRO-ORMS, Agroco, and Kischenzi. The equipment will accelerate elevators operations and increase the grain transportation capacity of these medium-sized firms to 185,130 tons annually. 

Agrofirma Dzvony, a family-owned enterprise, expects the modern telehandler to optimize overall work at the elevator and amplify its transportation capacity by 150%. The company will use the telehandler to load trailers under the canopy during harvest, transport grain, and fill big bags with grain. Dzvony specializes in growing wheat, corn, soybeans, rapeseed, and sunflowers.  

Another beneficiary of the USAID-provided telehandler is Kushpit, a family-owned business that anticipates improvements in grain storage facility operations with the new equipment. Two of the company’s three telehandlers are outdated, impacting overall efficiency. While telehandlers are utilized across various operations, Kushpit plans to use the new equipment to expedite transportation at the elevator. The existing telehandlers will be repurposed for land plot afforestation, grubbing, and chip overloading related to these reforestation efforts. 

AGRO-ORMS, an agri firm, plans to increase its grain transshipment capacity and optimize logistics costs with the new telescopic handler. Due to the dispersed locations of its shipping points, the company currently rents an additional telehandler to supplement its own. AGRO-ORMS expects that utilizing two telehandlers will enable simultaneous shipment from two warehouses, ultimately doubling the speed of grain trailer loading. It will decrease downtime and expedite delivery to ports or borders, potentially leading to a 250% increase in exports.  

Furthermore, USAID ERA provided a telehandler to Kischenzi, a diversified farm, that integrates agricultural, dairy, vegetable, and pig farming operations. The company will utilize the USAID-provided telehandler to manage grain movement within storage warehouses and facilitate loading onto vehicles for further transshipment to Ukrainian ports. With the new telehandler, Kischenzi anticipates a 50% increase in grain loading capacity, enabling it to handle up to 4,500 tons of grain daily.  

Lastly, USAID ERA provided a telehandler to Agroco, a diversified agri enterprise. Founded in 2001, Agroco cultivates corn, soybeans, sunflowers, and wheat while operating a dairy farm. The new telehandler will enhance the company’s grain handling efficiency at the elevator. Previously, relying on shared equipment from their livestock operations, Agroco expects to double their daily grain loading capacity from 500 to 1,000 tons with the telehandler. This improvement will accelerate technological processes and reduce costs associated with loading rented rail wagons. 

Background: Assistance to agricultural producers and infrastructure companies is part of the Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI) – Ukraine, implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It aims to help Ukraine increase its capacity to produce, store, transport, and export grain.