Astarta Agroprom Holding, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, plans to invest more than $21m in 2025 to upgrade its fleet of agricultural machinery, the press service of the agricultural holding has reported.
According to the report, 150 units of new equipment have already been contracted, including heavy tractors, sprayers, self-propelled sugar beet harvesters, sowing complexes, precision seeders, tillage units and other equipment. Part of the equipment has been delivered to the production enterprises of the agricultural holding and will be actively involved in spring field works. This will improve the efficiency of agricultural production and optimise the processes of soil tillage and harvesting, as well as preserve soil health.
“The acquisition of modern machinery is one of the elements of our decarbonisation strategy, which involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions through more fuel-efficient machinery and the application of precision and regenerative farming practices. In order to reduce the impact of agricultural production on climate change, Astarta continues to scale up such practices, in particular, reducing the number and depth of tillage and increasing the area for sowing cover crops,” said Andrei Zagorulko, Director of the Department of Plant Production, Logistics and Mechanisation.
According to his information, in 2024 the agroholding has increased the areas under no-tillage and siderates. It expanded differentiated and local application of mineral fertilisers, which implies their optimal use. In addition, local application of fertilisers simultaneously with the main tillage significantly reduces the use of fuel due to fewer technological operations.
“The updated fleet of machinery will allow us to respond more quickly to changing weather conditions, be significantly more cost-effective and reduce dependence on third-party services,” the agroholding is convinced.
“Astarta” is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural farms with land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, oil extraction plant in Globino (Poltava region), seven elevators and biogas complex.
In 2023, Agroholding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR61.9m, while its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR145.77m on revenue growth of 21.3% to EUR618.93m.