Right to the tomatoes. How "Chumak" and Agrofusion work.

Large tomato processors in Ukraine are gradually restoring their war-damaged capacities. A major supplier of processed tomatoes to the European market is the company "Agrofusion". One of its plants is located in occupied territory, the other suffered from shelling. The leader of the Ukrainian market "Chumak" – in another situation: the company no longer has its own production.

The raw material base of tomato processors has also been severely affected. The tomato processing industry in Ukraine has shrunk due to the occupation of Kherson region and the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.

How is the industry recovering during the war? How will it be affected by the Cabinet's initiative to introduce countervailing duties against Turkish tomatoes? What will happen to prices? A correspondent investigated. LIGA.net.

Under pressure.

Before the war, Ukraine was among the top twenty countries in the world in tomato production. Of course, with its 2.5 million tons of tomatoes per year, Ukraine was far behind China and India (68 and 20 million tons respectively), but the country's population is also far from one and a half billion.

Last year was the worst for Ukraine's tomato industry. The tomato harvest was almost five times smaller than in 2021, the pre-war year. This year will be better, but not by much.

Tomato harvest, thousand tons

According to the State Statistics Service

Why did this happen?

The tomato heart of Ukraine is the left bank of Kherson Oblast. The bright sun and a powerful irrigation system from the Kakhovka Reservoir via a system of main canals have created excellent conditions for growing tomatoes. But the main thing is the people who know how to grow tomatoes for every taste. "Farmers and specialists from large farms created their own methods, and when necessary, adopted the best world technologies. They experimented with varieties, plant protection products, and equipment for efficient watering and harvesting," says Taras Bash tannik, president of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association.

The stability of this megaclustre was provided by processing plants with a distribution and logistics system. Key roles were played by Chumak (owned by the Singaporean group Wilmar International Limited since 2019) and Agrofusion, owned by Serhiy Sypsko. He previously served as CEO of Sandora, which belongs to PepsiCo.

Nova Kakhovka, where the Chumak processing plant was located, was occupied in the first days of the war. Local residents reported on social media that the occupiers looted the company's finished goods warehouse and removed Chumak's equipment. After sabotage With the Russian army's seizure of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, the company's land reclamation efforts disappeared, and its processing facilities were washed away. "Agrofusion" lost one of its three factories – the only one operating on the left bank.

"In Kherson region, no one grows tomatoes anymore. There is no water, no processing facilities – and without these, there's no point in even trying," says Oleksandr Gordiienko, head of the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Kherson region, with a shrug.

In the disastrous year of 2024, the fresh tomato market was flooded with imports from Turkey. Tomato paste and its derivatives – "red" sauces – were often produced from cheap Chinese paste. Or Iranian paste, repackaged in Turkey. The demand was partially covered by raw materials from warehouse stocks left over from previous years.

There was also a third option: importing products of higher quality than Chinese ones. For example, before the war, "Chumak" was the only company in Ukraine that packaged tomato paste in triangular tubes. "With the start of the war, we began importing paste in such packaging from Italy. Because at that time, only there could they combine such packaging and a quality product," says Oleksandr Boyko, COO of Chumak.

How to put toothpaste back in the tube

Having lost all its processing capacity, Chumak began placing orders for the production of tomato products at factories not only in Italy, but also in Ukraine. Even at companies that were previously competitors. These include companies such as "Vitmarch" and "Lutsk Foods". It turned out that their workload had decreased due to a reduction in customers in the country.

Over time, pasta began to be packaged in pyramids – aseptic packaging – in Ukraine again. "In 2025, we are using the capacity of our Ukrainian partner (apparently, Vitmark – Ed.), which has modern equipment for tomato processing. This allows us to ensure stable product quality and flexibility in production volumes," says Oleksandr Boyko.

Chumak's net income for 2024 amounted to 1.4 billion UAH, according to the YouControl system. This is 1.4 times more than in 2023. For the first half of 2025, net income reached 710.7 million UAH, which is 5% higher than the same period last year.

Plans to build a new, own factory in the Odesa region, which "Chumak" announced together with the Odesa Regional Military Administration in 2023, are currently on hold. As LIGA.net learned, the project has stalled at the stage of preparing drawings and searching for a construction site.

This happened after Russian missiles struck in April 2024 was destroyed the oil terminal "Delta Wilmar Ukraine", which, like "Chumak", belongs to Singaporean Wilmar International.

"Currently, the project has been put on hold due to macroeconomic risks and the security situation," Oleksandr Boyko responded to a request from LIGA.net.

Around this time, Agrofusion put back into operation, after repairs, one of its processing plants in Mykolaiv Oblast. The plant was severely damaged during fighting with the Russian army. The company's second plant in the same region is also operating.

Open-field tomatoes for these enterprises are partly supplied by farmers from Mykolaiv and Odesa regions, as well as neighboring Vinnytsia and Cherkasy regions. Therefore, this year's harvest will be larger than last year's. "But the peak of tomato sales will be three weeks later than usual. The reason is the low temperatures in May," says Taras Bash tannik from the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association.

Given the current level of demand and the volume of the tomato harvest in Ukraine, there is no shortage of processing capacity, according to experts and market participants interviewed by LIGA.net. "Even in three to four weeks, when significant volumes of this year's open-ground tomato harvest finally enter the market, there will be no problems with processing them," says Taras Bash tannik.

Tomato regulation, or the little tomato war

The market situation may be affected by a completely different factor – regulatory. In July, the Interagency Commission on International Trade introduced protective tariffs against Turkish tomatoes. Their bid is – from 25% to 26.9%, and the term is five years.This step was demanded by leading Ukrainian greenhouse farms.

Of course, the introduction of tariffs will lead to a reduction in the supply of tomatoes. This will curb their seasonal price drop. Taras Bastannik predicts that from the end of August, the wholesale price of Ukrainian tomatoes will fall to 15 hryvnias per kilogram. "But this is without taking into account the effect of the tariffs. Most likely, the tariffs will prevent such a price drop," he says.

However, the main event will take place later, closer to the end of autumn. When the grant-funded tomatoes will already be sold and processed. The time of exclusively greenhouse tomatoes will come. And it will turn out that Ukrainians don't have enough of them – because Turkish imports provide at least 40% of the market.