Unfortunately, this season we are witnessing that the decrease in production volumes due to drought is not balanced by prices on the global market. This threatens the fragile position of Ukrainian farmers and encourages NIBULON to continue searching for ways to reduce logistics costs. An obvious solution for us is to increase the share of our own transport and help our partners, Ukrainian agricultural producers, reach the global market.
One of our heroes, Oleksii Rudenko, a farmer from Mykolaiv region, is not a newcomer to his business. He registered his enterprise, Agro-Pivden, back in 1998 by acquiring an abandoned farm. At that time, the area of the newly established company was 50 hectares, and the first crop planted was fodder wheat. Although Oleksii is an accountant by education, he admits that he found his true calling in agriculture. The farmer is sincerely committed to his work. And this is the only way to success, because if you treat your work with love, it will definitely pay off – the land is grateful and favorable to hardworking hands.
The agricultural producer’s business has really taken off, and now his farm is a group of enterprises covering 1,850 hectares located in two regions (Mykolaiv and Kherson) with a team of 30 employees.
The geographical location speaks for itself — it is a high-risk area.
“At the beginning of the war, the enemy almost reached one of our farms,” says Oleksii Rudenko. “But we continued to work. Every day, we went to the fields and did everything we could to keep going. It’s not just a job – it’s food on the table, it’s the food security of Ukraine and the world. We never forgot about it for a minute. And thanks to our long-standing partners, we managed to stay afloat financially.”
Oleksiy has been selling grain to NIBULON since 2005. At first, he delivered it to the Transshipment Terminal in Mykolaiv, and later to Kozatska branch. After it was flooded due to the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP, he resumed his cooperation with the Transshipment Terminal.
“My first specialty as an accountant has an undeniable advantage – I know how to count and understand the importance of official document flow. That is why I really appreciate the transparent and clear payment terms offered by NIBULON. Unlike many others, the company makes exclusively non-cash transactions, which means that everything is done legally. For us, this is an important and crucial point when it comes to partnership. Additionally, we appreciate bonuses such as as the opportunity for our drivers to have a rest between work processes,” says Oleksii.
NIBULON values its cooperation with each of our agricultural partners and creates conditions to maximize their profits. One of the ways to influence this indicator is to reduce logistics costs, which enables the company to set more favorable purchase prices. NIBULON is supported by international partners such as the USAID Economic Resilience Activity.
The 50 hopper wagons and 13 grain trailers that USAID provided to NIBULON in 2023-2024 have improved the cost of grain transportation, as the cost of transportation by our own transport is about 20% lower than the services of external operators. Since the transfer of the hopper wagons, they have already transported 126,000 tons of grain and oilseeds, while the grain trailers have transported 55,000 tons.
In addition to the means of transportation, USAID has also strengthened the company’s service capabilities by providing two Rakoraf mechanical grain samplers, which provide a quick and easy method for sampling grain and oilseeds from open vehicles and delivering the samples to the laboratory at Bessarabska branch.
We continue to feed the world by delivering Ukrainian grain to 25 countries.
We invite you to join our community! We are always happy to welcome new partners! We are always open to new partners!
Read also the stories of NIBULON’s cooperation with Dar-Yu Farm and Agrofirma LEV.
