Producing high-protein feed ingredients from sunflower offers Ukrainian agribusiness an opportunity to capture more value from its existing raw material base. For oilseed crushing and extraction plants, it represents an additional processing opportunity; for feed manufacturers, a tool for managing formulations and sourcing; and for strategic investors, an opportunity to integrate these activities within a single business.
Ukraine’s sunflower industry has the foundations needed to develop more sophisticated products: oilseed cultivation, industrial processing, and established markets for processed products. The next step could be the wider production of standardised protein ingredients for livestock nutrition.
In this model, sunflower meal serves as a raw material for further enrichment. The processor’s commercial objective is to produce an ingredient with characteristics that a feed mill is willing to pay for: predictable nutritional value, consistent composition, and suitability for specific formulations.
This is where the interests of agricultural processors, poultry and pig farming groups, compound feed manufacturers, and international feed ingredient suppliers intersect.
How the New Product Is Produced
Sunflower meal has long been used in animal feed. Further processing offers the potential to increase protein concentration and reduce the proportion of components that limit its use.
Hull content affects the balance between protein and fibre. Research by de Figueiredo on mechanical sunflower dehulling shows that removing hulls can improve meal composition but may also result in losses of valuable components. The degree of separation must therefore be selected with product yield and process economics in mind.
For investors, this is a crucial distinction: a higher protein percentage does not necessarily indicate a more efficient production process. The assessment must consider how much saleable product is obtained from each tonne of raw material, the cost of processing, and how the remaining fractions are marketed.
What Feed Manufacturers Are Willing to Pay For
Buyers assess a feed ingredient by its performance within a diet. Relevant factors include amino acid content and digestibility, energy value, fibre content, and consistency between batches.
Sunflower and soybean meals have different amino acid profiles: sunflower meal has a lower proportion of lysine in its protein. Its inclusion rate depends on the species and age of the animals and the nutritional balance of the diet. Feedipedia recommends relying on analysis of the actual batch, as the composition of sunflower products varies considerably.
The supplier’s economic case must therefore be specific: how does incorporating the product affect the cost of a balanced feed, and is animal performance maintained? Comparing only the price per tonne or the crude protein percentage is insufficient.
For example, a cheaper protein ingredient may require additional amino acids or energy-rich ingredients. The final cost savings should be calculated after these adjustments, taking delivery costs and trial results into account.
For processors, this means that laboratory quality control and collaboration with the customer’s feed formulation specialists become part of the sales process. Demonstrated effectiveness in a formulation creates a basis for repeat orders and longer-term contracts.
Why This Opportunity Makes Sense for Ukraine
The investment rationale lies in connecting existing production activities. A company carrying out further processing of sunflower meal can source raw materials from oilseed extraction plants and supply its ingredient to feed manufacturers and livestock producers.
For Ukraine, this development could generate additional domestic activities: processing, laboratory services, storage, and technical support for customers. The economic benefit will depend on whether the additional value created exceeds the costs of equipment, energy, financing, and logistics.
The ability to build a business around established raw material flows is also important. However, the nationwide availability of sunflower meal does not guarantee favourable procurement terms for an individual plant. Multiple supply sources, agreed specifications, and a calculation of delivered raw material costs are required.
With unstable power supplies and challenging logistics, producers capable of maintaining quality and meeting shipment schedules may gain an advantage. Supply reliability also has economic value for industrial customers.
Where Processors Generate Revenue
Further processing creates an opportunity to sell a more specialised product. Realising that opportunity depends on three interconnected factors.
The first is value to the buyer. A premium over conventional sunflower meal must be justified by nutritional value, consistency, and the economics of its use.
The second is finished product yield. Higher protein concentration must be assessed against the reduced volume of the main product, processing costs, and the value of the other fractions produced.
The third is capacity utilisation. Even a technically sound production line needs sufficient orders to cover fixed costs. Sales contracts, repeat purchases, and the duration of customer trials therefore directly affect investment attractiveness.
Why a Strategic Investor May Gain Additional Benefits
For a compound feed group, in-house production of a protein ingredient can meet part of its internal requirements and provide greater control over specifications.
For an integrated meat or egg producer, the opportunity lies in influencing the feed component of production costs.
An oilseed extraction company may view this activity as a way to add further value to its own sunflower meal.
An international feed manufacturer or ingredient distributor may see it as a production base for expanding its product range and supplying its customers.
Acquiring an operating business can shorten the route to market if it has proven technology, an established team, and repeat sales. Its value to the buyer will depend on how well these capabilities complement the buyer’s existing business.
A Confidential Investment Opportunity from InVenture M&A Advisors
InVenture M&A Advisors represents an operating Ukrainian producer of high-protein feed ingredients derived from sunflower. The company is considering bringing in a strategic investor.
To request further information contact us at +38 067 713 65 71 / [email protected].
A brief investment teaser is provided following qualification of the prospective investor by the InVenture team. Further information is disclosed after an NDA has been signed.
