Astarta reports strong early grain harvest results

Ukrainian farmer and leading sugar producer Astarta (AST PW) harvested this season 324 kt of early grains, which is a 20% yoy improvement, according to its Aug. 9 press release. The result was achieved by both an increase of acreage under early crops (+11% yoy to 56 Kha) and better average yield of grains (+8% yoy, we estimate). In particular, Astarta reported an 8% yoy increase in average yield of winter wheat to a company record of 5.8 t/ha.

The company highlighted that production of its own seeds contributed significantly to the improved results. It added that it’s fully sufficient with its own seeds for the upcoming winter sowing campaign.

Alexander Paraschiy: Astarta’s results were also helped by favorable weather conditions, but nevertheless the result exceeds our expectations. These results add optimism for the sugar beet and late grain harvest (which are more important for Astarta’s well-being than the early crops) and allows us to remain positive on Astarta stock.