Astarta launches soybean processing complex

Ukraine’s leading sugar producer, farmer and food processor Astarta (AST PW), reported on Jan. 27 it has launched at full capacity a soybean processing complex in the Poltava region. The facility will process 220 kt of soybean annually to produce 160 kt of soybean meal (protein-rich additive to animal feed), 40 kt of soybean oil and about 10 kt of granulated soybean husks. Astarta plans that it will be 50% self-sufficient in soybeans input for the facility. Last year, it reported it harvested about 120 kt of soybeans. The company did not disclose the total cost of the facility’s construction, though earlier offering an estimate of USD 35 mln, according to the Interfax-Ukrayina news agency.

Alexander Paraschiy: The soybean processing facility adds more arguments to the company’s claim that it is a vertically integrated farming and food company, not just a sugar producer. And we see it may have lot of synergies with the company’s dairy farms and a new biogas facility (which is located nearby). At the same time, we do not expect a sharp reaction from the market to this news, as it was broadly anticipated.