KIEV, UKRAINE — NIBULON participated in the Ukrainian-American Agrarian Congress in the U.S. from March 24-25, organized by the Ukrainian Grain Association and APK-Inform to promote skill sharing and improve business relations between the two countries.

More than 170 people from 13 countries participated in the congress. They discussed world food security, prospects of investment in the Ukrainian agrarian sector as well as key issues concerning the development of a biofuels market, genetic research in the agrarian sector, and more.

Representatives of state structures and agribusiness, agrarian specialists, sectoral experts and representatives of public agricultural organizations represented Ukraine.

NIBULON’s General Director Oleksiy Vadaturskyy participated in the congress, speaking at the plenary meeting about “World food security: the U.S. and Ukraine contribution.” He noted that NIBULON was the only Ukrainian company that supplied high-quality food wheat to starving people as part of the UN World Food Program. The company actively participates in the international tenders for supply of agricultural commodities to governmental and non-governmental organizations, he said.

The company is one of the leading domestic investors and agricultural producers. It is reviving shipbuilding, developing and improving logistics, creating logistics infrastructure and increasing cargo transportation along the Dnipro River. NIBULON is the largest domestic exporter of grain and oil crops for many consecutive years. At the same time the company is one of the largest tax payers in the agrarian sector.

Vadaturskyy said in the agricultural production sector the major factor to improve the efficiency is to combine components of agrarian technologies properly, depending on the geographical and climatic areas of production, to use modern high-capacity machinery, to implement scientifically-based crop rotations, to purchase the best seed, to use fertilizers and plant protection agents rationally, to preserve soil fertility. The entire package of agrotechnical measures is aimed at increasing crop capacity, improving grain quality and bringing grain to world quality standards.

NIBULON is among the top 10 largest Ukrainian land users with an area of more than 82,000 hectares in 11 regions.

Combination of agrotechnical and organizational measures, reasonable planning of sown areas and risk spreading, give convincing results, Vadaturskyy said. During the last five years, NIBULON’s crop yield has been exceeding the average levels typical in  Ukraine, in particular wheat by 24%, corn by 26 %, and rapeseed by 44 %.

Vadaturskyy said that if the average crop yield by the country was at NIBULON’s level, Ukraine’s gross yield could be increased by 15 to15.5 million tonnes (including grain crops – up to 12.6 million tonnes), achieving 78.7 to 79.2 million tonnes.

He said NIBULON is developing logistics and efficient schemes to transport and store grain and oil crops. NIBULON’s “field-port” logistics scheme enables it to use the most optimal and efficient routes to transport products from producers to shipment points. As part of its investment project, NIBULON has constructed and continues to construct modern automated elevator complexes and transshipment terminals along the Dnipro and the Southern Bug. The facilities are equipped with up-to-date foreign equipment. This enables NIBULON to bring commodities to the required export conditions.

Along with facility construction, the logistics chain includes NIBULON’s cargo fleet that numbers 28 non-self-propelled vessels, nine tugs (six newly constructed ones out of which two tugs were constructed at the NIBULON shipbuilding and repair yard), high-capacity transshipment floating crane, plus a dredger. The program goal, in addition to developing a network of facilities to store grains, is to transport 3 million tonnes of products on the Ukrainian inland waterways annually.

Vadaturskyy emphasized problems of development of the Ukrainian cargo transportation infrastructure, in particular the Dnipro dredging, the construction of terminals and river fleet. He mentioned that it was necessary to involve foreign investments in constructing 10 terminals and dredging of the Dnipro River. According to him, foreign bank investments are necessary to purchase 400,000 tonnes of metal, thereby providing shipyards with work for four years.

As a result, Ukraine will have towing and cargo fleet with the deadweight of 550,000 tonnes and will transport 10 million tonnes of cargoes annually. Metallurgical works will be provided with work for at least four years; about 15,000 shipbuilders will get a job.

Vadaturskyy added that this program would motivate not only Ukraine’s economy but also would provide for equipment imports from the U.S.

According to Vadaturskyy, it is necessary to develop mutually advantageous cooperation, as NIBULON achieves leading positions in industrial equipment imports from many countries around the world (for the construction of its infrastructure facilities and fleet), thereby stimulating operation of foreign companies.

NIBULON has maintained leadership in agricultural commodity exports for a long time, he said. The company closed the 2013-14 marketing year with a figure of more than 4.5 million tonnes of products exported; almost every tenth ton of grain supplied to foreign consumers was shipped by the company.

The 2014-15 marketing year is also proving to be successful for NIBULON, he said. The company is ranked in first place among grain exporters and takes third among oilseed exporters.

Vadaturskyy stressed that only by ensuring a crop yield achieved by NIBULON, modernizing agricultural machinery fleet and irrigation system, developing grain logistics and carrying out dredging, Ukraine would strengthen its positions in the world grain market and make a considerable contribution to world food security.