Astarta to launch Ukraine’s first soy protein concentrate facility
Photo: Astarta

Agro-industrial holding Astarta is set to build Ukraine’s first plant for producing soy protein concentrate. On May 14, the company secured $40 million in international financing for the project, according to its official website.

The financing agreement was signed with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The investment package includes a $27 million loan from the IFC and a $13 million concessional loan from the Government of the Netherlands.

This funding is backed by guarantees from the European Commission under the Ukraine Investment Framework and from the Dutch government through the IFC’s Economic Resilience Action program.

Astarta is a vertically integrated Ukrainian agro-industrial holding, founded by Viktor Ivanchyk in 1993. The company has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2006. It manages 215,000 hectares of farmland, produces between 250,000 and 500,000 tons of sugar annually, is Ukraine’s largest industrial milk producer (115,000 tons per year), ranks second in soybean processing (230,000 tons capacity), and develops bioenergy through a biogas complex with a capacity of 150,000 cubic meters per day.

The new project is expected to generate $680 million in annual export revenues and contribute $116.5 million to Ukraine’s GDP. It will create around 3,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Soy protein concentrate is considered an environmentally friendly alternative to fishmeal for European aquaculture. Its production will allow Ukraine to diversify its exports and move up the value chain by producing higher value-added goods.

The plant will also produce soy molasses, a by-product of processing, which will be used to power the company’s biogas facilities.

"For me, this agreement is yet another confirmation of the importance of developing the processing sector. We must shift from exporting raw materials to delivering high value-added products to global markets," said Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.

Astarta