Yerkin Tatishev expands his Ukrainian operations
Kusto Group’s chairman of the board of directors Yerkin Tatishev met with the ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ukraine Darkhan Kaletaev. Tatishev briefed the ambassador on Kusto Agro’s current activities in Ukraine, which include Kusto Agro farming, Kusto Agro elevator company, and Kusto trading & logistics. Currently, all those mentioned above operate in Ukraine. Yerkin Tatishev intends to expand Ukrainian enterprises as part of his strategic plan. Consequently, their meeting focused specifically on developing business relationships between Kazakhstani and Ukrainian companies in the agro-industrial sector.
The ambassador personally thanked Tatishev and his entire team for assisting in organizing the evacuation of Kazakhstanis from Ukraine’s remote regions. In addition, he expressed gratitude for any other assistance Tatishev and Kusto Group provided in recent months.
How does Kusto Agro operate in Ukraine?
Kusto Agro is an agricultural holding with land covering 24,000 acres. Its equipment includes combine harvesters, seeders, tillage equipment, elevators, and wagons transporting grain to ports. It also has its own trading company that sells products. The company employs 400 people, and the annual turnover of Kusto Agro in Ukraine is about $35-40 million. The company needed help exporting grain from Ukraine. “When the war began, we thought the sowing season would not be possible,” Tatishev explains. “As a result, we were unsure what would happen next, how the war zone would develop, and whether it would reach our areas. We decided to sow a month later. It was clear that no matter what development occurred in the economic component, we could still proceed with the business.
Moreover, we trusted the Ukrainian army. Among the crops we sowed were buckwheat, sunflowers, and soybeans. Almost all our land has been planted, leaving only about 4,000 hectares unplanted”.
Due to its determination to keep the effort, the company grew rather than sink in the 2022 financial year.
Inception of Kusto Agro – Ukraine
In 2014, during the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the Donbas war, the company survived its first crisis. During the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, corruption has grown a lot. An economic shock and a complex political situation led to confusion. Nevertheless, we took anti-crisis measures and kept working. The group’s fields have almost doubled in yield in the past few years. As of 2019, they have already produced 10 tons of crops and 7 tons of wheat. In total, the company made an average of 140 thousand tons. Currently, Kusto Agro employs about 400 people, most of whom are Ukrainians.
Yerkin Tatishev provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine
With the help of their partners and friends, Yerkin Tatishev and Kusto Agro set up the Pozitiv-Umit charitable foundation to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. More than 160 tons of humanitarian aid were loaded onto ten trucks. Following his return from Kyiv, Tatishev said the war had shaken Ukraine’s economy. In Ukraine and other nations, agriculture holds a leading position among the industries and is considered a “breadwinner” of the country. Approximately 100 million tons of grains and oilseeds have been produced so far. About 60-70 percent of goods are exported due to low domestic consumption. Ninety percent of crop exports go to other countries. Over the past decade, Ukraine has also popularized sunflower oil consumption abroad, where rapeseed oil is traditionally consumed. Kusto Agro lands grow crops, sunflowers, and soybeans in the western and central parts of Ukraine. During the summer of 2022, several preparations have already been made on farms in preparation for the sowing season, including seeds, fertilizers, fuel, and equipment. However, according to Tatishev, air strikes on oil depots and infrastructure might result in a shortage of energy for the harvest.
Kusto Agro is overcoming logistical challenges
Due to the closure of all Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, crop export is at substantial risk. The only land route to Europe was the western one. Ultimately, Ukraine has a lot of unsold crops: corn – about 12 million tons, wheat – about 8 million tons. Ukraine is seeking to maximize the possibility of new shipments. As a result of current conditions, Kusto Agro will reduce corn sown and sow buckwheat on 2 thousand hectares to redirect its resources to the domestic market. “Our company has always been export-oriented. Most buckwheat is grown by small farms. In anticipation of a prolonged food crisis in Ukraine caused by the war, we wish to play a part in providing support. Despite our plans to sow more, we were short of seeds”, Tatishev explained. It was decided to maintain volume for other crops to avoid shortages in the future.
<H2> Yerkin Tatishev is optimistic
The Kusto Group is engaged in anti-crisis work in almost all areas of its business amid global turmoil. The company has, however, continued to look for growth opportunities. “We need to take a fresh perspective. Whenever a crisis occurs, it allows us to improve ourselves. On a global scale, the current crisis results from a fierce battle between democracy and totalitarianism,” Yerkin Tatishevs concludes.