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Kiev, Ukraine, January 17, 2014
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has provided long-term financing to Industrial Milk Company (IMC) to help increase grain production and land cultivation and promote innovative farming practices, strengthening Ukraine’s agricultural sector.
IFC’s investment includes a $30 million loan and warrants for up to $20 million. It will help the company expand in Ukraine’s northern and central regions and increase grain production, contributing to global food security.
“IMC has been growing steadily over the past two years,” said CEO Alex Lissitsa. “With IFC’s support, our investment program – aimed at expanding our grain operations and storage – will be implemented more quickly. We are also working with IFC to increase the efficiency of our agricultural production by implementing new, innovative technologies in our operations.”
IMC is participating in a pilot project aimed at increasing productivity across the agricultural value chain in Ukraine. The project is being implemented by the IFC advisory program Sustainable Development of Medium and Small-Scale Farmers in Ukraine, in partnership with Austria’s Finance Ministry.
“Agribusiness is at the center of our investment and advisory work in Ukraine because of the country’s huge potential to play an important role in global food security,” said Elena Voloshina, IFC’s head of operations in Ukraine. “Supporting some of the best private companies, such as IMC, we want to spur faster growth and more innovation in the agribusiness sector, a key for Ukraine’s long-term growth.”
IMC, a producer of agricultural crops and raw milk and meat, currently has about 120,000 hectares in northern and central Ukraine and plans to increase the land under cultivation to about 285,000 hectares by 2019.
IFC has already invested over $800 million
in Ukraine’s agribusiness sector, supporting projects across the value chain, from farm production to processing and distribution. IFC is also implementing an extensive advisory program, including projects focusing on simplifying agribusiness regulations, improving access to finance to farmers, improving food safety standards, and helping modernize supply chains and improve resource efficiency.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About IMC:
IMC is one of the leading integrated agricultural companies in Ukraine, and is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The company is primarily involved in crop cultivation, the storage and processing of grain and oilseed crops, potato production and dairy farming. It operates 120,700 hectares of land located in the prime fertile farming regions of Ukraine (Poltava, Chernihiv, Sumy). The company was founded in 2007. In 2012, IMC reported net profit of $18.7 million and EBITDA of $32 million. For more information, please visit
http://imcagro.com.ua
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