EBRD disburses 4,8 million dollars for agri-related industries in Ukraine
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced a 60% of a total US $ 8 million loan (that equals to the sum of 4,8 million) to support food security in Ukraine. The amount will be disbursed to Astarta Group through an agreement with partner bank Ukrsibbank BNP Paribas Group.
Since the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent war on the ground, the country has lost 25% of the arable area. "We anticipate that the harvest will be around 35% less than previous years, which means that we will have a loss of around 30 million tonnes of products, almost half of the previous year harvest,” said the Agrarian Policy and Food Deputy Minister of Ukraine, Taras Vysotskyi, to CNN in the beginning of June.
Overall, in 2021 Ukraine harvested around 86 million tonnes of grain. In 2022 the Ukrainian harvest is set to drop to around 48.5 million tonnes. Before the war started the agricultural sector was one of the most flourishing of the country: exports account for about 10 % of the globally traded wheat and corn, and 37 % of sunflower oil, United Nations figures show.
The EBRD financial instrument will help Ukrainian private companies of the agricultural sector to afford with more resilience and strength the farming, food processing, transport and imports of goods. In particular, the loan will give the possibility to Astarta to finance crop farming and sugar production.
The Efforts of EBRD are part of the broader Resilience and Livelihoods Framework for Ukraine that focuses on giving help to the country in operations such as:
- Payment deferrals, debt forbearance and restructuring;
- Trade finance, including for fuel imports;
- Emergency liquidity finance, in coordination with partners;
- Emergency reform support, to give Ukrainian authorities the necessary know-how for immediate legislative and regulatory interventions.
In April the EBRD board voted to suspend the access of Russia and Belarus to the bank's financial expertise, and decided to close its offices in both countries. At the same time, the Bank continues to support Ukraine with a total of 516 projects supported (a cumulative investment of €17,639 million).