On September 4, USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) delivered a pneumatic transshipment loader, to the agricultural logistics company, Ascet Shipping. 

The loader will increase Ascet Shipping’s competitiveness in the logistics services market by reducing the cost of moving grain by approximately 10% and increase transshipment capacity by 80-120,000 tons per year. The new equipment will enable Ascet Shipping to give their customers—agro traders—a lower tariff that in its turn will influence more favorable prices for farmers. 

The loader moves grain more than 100 meters and, if necessary, lifts to a height of 30 meters. Ascet Shipping’s customers transport grain by rail, therefore the logistics company needs the loader to move grain from wagons to load it into trailers. The trailers move the grain the last kilometer to the berths, where grain is put on ships for export. Ascet Shipping will purchase a 100 mm four-core 70 meter power cable to use for power to the loader.  

Ascet Shipping was founded in 2007 and in 2021 was the leading port operator in Mariupol, Berdiansk, Kherson, and Mykolaiv with their own barge fleet and storage capacities of more than 100,000 tons. Despite the loss of major assets, they relaunched, and now operate in all other ports of Ukraine. Ascet Shipping provides transport, transshipment, expedition, fumigation, and tax clearance services. Their exports reached 500,000 tons of agricultural commodities in 2022, and about 800,000 tons in 2023. 

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.

More information about the “AGRI-Ukraine” initiative is available following the link:
↗ https://www.usaid.gov/ukraine/agriculture-resilience-initiative-agri-ukraine

In 2024 alone, USAID has provided 300 grain wagons to 11 Ukrainian agri-exporters, marking a significant milestone in supporting the country’s agricultural export capacity. It is estimated that these 300 wagons will increase Ukraine’s grain exports by 432,705 tons annually, support exports worth nearly $83 million yearly, and attract significant additional investments. 

The key players that received wagons in Ukraine’s agricultural sector include Agro-Region, Almeida Group, Ascet Shipping, Astarta Kyiv, Cygnet, Eridon, IMC Group, Louis Dreyfus Company, MHP, Nidera Agro, UGTC Trade.  

These agri exporters will expedite grain for export customers, enhance USAID’s partners’ market independence, and optimize logistics costs, ultimately allowing them to offer Ukrainian farmers more competitive terms. 

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.

 In August 2023, USAID, through its Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), delivered two Rakoraf mechanical grain samplers to Nibulon at its Bessarabska branch, a river terminal on the Danube River. These samplers provide a quick and reliable method for sampling grains and oilseeds from open vehicles and delivering the samples to the laboratory. This new equipment enabled Nibulon to increase vehicle processing speeds by 75% daily, facilitate laboratory testing, and accelerate agricultural exports.   

The samplers complement two existing ones that were often out of service due to wear and tear. With the new, additional samplers from USAID ERA, Nibulon bolstered the amount of cargo accepted by road and processed 350 vehicles per day at the Bessarabska branch, a 75% increase in capacity. 

During the 2023-2024 marketing year, Nibulon used the new samplers to conduct incoming grain quality control on approximately 43,450 vehicles, or 1,1 million tons of grain, representing 90% of the total grain volume entering Nibulon’s Bessarabska branch.  

The Bessarabska branch transships grain from road and rail to river transport, primarily bound for Constanta, Romania. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ports in Odesa ceased operations, the Bessarabska branch became Nibulon’s main export channel. Nibulon exported 64% of its grain through this terminal in the first quarter of 2023.  When the Black Sea Grain Corridor opened, flows through the Bessarabska branch decreased, but it remains an important export route for the agri exporter.

Despite a drone attack that damaged the branch’s warehouses in August 2023, the terminal quickly resumed operations, allowing Nibulon to continue delivering grain to global markets. 

By operating the terminal, the company not only exports grain to people who need it but also supports the local economy by paying taxes and creating jobs.

Under USAID’s AGRI-Initiative, USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) is strengthening agro-exports:

  $37 million in private investment leveraged in March-May 2024 by  37 AGRI firms

25 Private businesses, Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, Reni Port, and

10 Phytosanitary Labs under the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection  $32.1 million in equipment delivered as of July 2024

 Between January – May 2024, AGRI equipment moved 367,339 MT of agricultural exports

USAID’s 25 AGRI beneficiaries exported 631,162 MT  between March 2023 and May 2024

On July 18, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, USAID/Ukraine Mission Director Julie Konen, and representatives of USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) visited the agricultural exporter, Agro-Region in Kyiv Oblast. 

The delegation toured Agro-Region’s facilities to see their phytosanitary laboratory, silos, USAID-provided trucks and how grain is loaded into USAID provided grain wagons for export.  

To bolster grain exports, USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) delivered 25 grain wagons, two truck scales, two telescopic handlers, and two generators to AR Boryspil under AGRI Ukraine. In addition, ERA delivered three grain trailers to Harna Lohistyka, another company in the holding group Agro-Region.  

Agro-Region is currently in the prime season for collecting grain for exports. Around 100 farmers from Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, and Khmelnytskyi bring their rapeseed and wheat to Agro-Region, who has a capacity of 4,000 tons of grain. Even with rolling blackouts, Agro-Region continues to receive grain from farmers with the help of the USAID-provided generator.  

“Thanks to the help of USAID, [Agro Region Boryspil] plans to increase the volume of farm grain purchases, expand the list of partner farms and find the best conditions for cooperation,” says Vitaly Shevchuk, Head of the Boryspil Elevator at Agro-Region. “USAID’s assistance will also ensure uninterrupted grain receiving, storage, and processing services at the elevator in Boryspil and other facilities in Velyka Oleksandrivka.” 

During the discussion with the Ambassador and Agro-Region representatives, Agro-Region’s partner farmers talked about how they work during the war and the challenges they face, such as damaged agricultural machinery, mobilization of workers, and power outages. Farmers also thanked the U.S. government for the support they provide to the Ukrainian people during the war. 

“We have been working with Agro-Region for more than eight years, and they are a reliable partner,” shared Farm Owner Pavlo Petrov from Brovary district. “Every year I see how the company changes, becomes more modern, which helps me understand export trends. Despite power outages, weather conditions, and changes in fuel prices, we continue to sow grain. We believe that this year we will have higher quality grain, so we will sell it at a higher price,” he continued.  

Despite difficult spring conditions coupled with power outages, farmers hope that this year’s grain will be of higher quality than last year, so that exporters like Agro-Region can offer them top prices and move more grain with USAID-provided equipment.

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.

On July 17, on the Danube, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Administration (USPA) officially raised the Ukrainian flag on the USAID-provided pilot boat, symbolizing the boat is now fully operational. USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) purchased the pilot boat for USPA to support seafaring operations in the Danube River transporting maritime pilots between land and inbound/outbound ships, impacting logistical efficiency of cargo and export processing. 

Ukrainian Marine Shipbuilding (UMS) built the pilot boat in half a year. The vessel can carry 12 crew members and reach speeds of up to 22 knots. The boat is equipped with modern Swedish engines, it can autonomously stay on the water for up to 12 hours, and it even has a recreation area for the crew. 

The USAID-provided pilot boat named Hennadii Zhuravkov, will replace the boat Orlyk, which was blown up by a mine in 2022. The USAID-provided pilot boat was named in honor of Captain 1st rank Hennadii Zhuravkov, who worked for more than 20 years at the Delta-Lotsman branch of USPA, holding the position of Head of Odesa Regional Department of the State Enterprise USPA.  

Two more USAID-provided pilot boats are on the way to USPA and are currently under construction in Turkey.  

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.