The parties signed the initial $13 million agreement as part of this loan program.
The resumption of financing has marked a new stage in NIBULON’s development. After heavy losses and a difficult return to stability, achieved in part through restructuring, the company is now able to gain momentum and develop an ecosystem to ensure sustainable food security.
NIBULON emphasizes that the support provided by state-owned banks to the real sector of the economy is evidence of the government’s consistent adaptation of its policy to the conditions of the full-scale war and its real focus on helping businesses.
“We see changes. We see a targeted government policy to support domestic businesses in action. This is a direct recognition of the critical role of strategic enterprises for the further development of Ukraine and a guarantee of our successful future. We are grateful to the government. We are grateful to the NBU for implementing the lending development strategy, and to state-owned banks, especially Oschadbank, for their support and synchronized movement towards a common goal,” said Andriy Vadaturskyy, CEO of NIBULON.
NIBULON will use the funds received to replenish its working capital after investing in the construction of a new transshipment terminal on the Danube. Bessarabska branch began operations in 2022, and it has become the main route for agricultural exports, which was crucial given the blockade of Ukraine’s seaports by the aggressor in previous periods. The replenishment of working capital also guarantees NIBULON’s ability to fully support the 2024/25 procurement campaign and to support Ukrainian farmers during the ongoing war.
“For us, NIBULON has been a long-standing and reliable partner for over six years. It is one of the pillars of the country’s food potential, including its export capacity. Today, the company’s total loan portfolio in Oschadbank is almost UAH 2 billion. Given that Oschadbank has a high level of liquidity, we are ready to continue supporting NIBULON financially in all its initiatives to regain its leadership positions in the global markets lost due to the full-scale war,” said Yurii Katsion, Deputy CEO in charge of Corporate Business at Oschadbank, during the signing of the agreement.
Ukraine’s agricultural market has suffered significant losses due to the full-scale war. However, Oschadbank has been implementing its wartime strategy for the third year in a row, primarily supporting its partners, leading companies in the industry that ensure the country’s food security, as well as representatives from other strategic sectors of the economy.
Vitalina Marchenko, Head of Corporate Finance at NIBULON, emphasized that the company is currently able to operate thanks to strong support, particularly from Ukrainian banks:
“We are grateful to Oschadbank for the systematic and consistent support of us, representatives of the sector that ensures the country’s food security. At the very beginning of the full-scale war, Oschadbank provided NIBULON with additional financing for the 2022/2023 sowing campaign to prevent a food crisis that the aggressor was trying to create. In 2023, Oschadbank was one of the first to restructure NIBULON’s pre-war loan to support the company, which suffered losses due to the destruction of infrastructure during the hostilities, the blockade of sea routes from the port of Mykolaiv, and the forced reorientation to other logistics routes. And now, we have new financing, which we will use for the procurement campaign to support small and medium-sized agricultural producers”.
