KYIV -- Astarta agricultural holding (Kyiv),one of the largest operators on the sugar market,plans by 2015 to increase its land holdings from the current 225,000 hectares to 400,000 hectares, the Polish mass media have reported, with reference to Astarta's director for development and communications with investors, Mykola Kovalsky. The company intends this year to expand its land bank to 250,000 hectares, by late 2012 to 300,000 hectares.

Kovalsky also said that the company plans to significantly increase its production of grain, oilseeds, sugar beet and sugar. The holding, in particular, estimates the harvest of grains and oilseeds in 2015 at
over 1.4 million tonnes, that of sugar beet at five million tonnes, while in 2010 the figures were 330,000 tonnes and over 1.3 million tonnes respectively.

Kovalsky said that Astarta plans this year to harvest more than 500,000 tonnes of grain and oilseeds and about two million tonnes of beet. In addition,the holding intends to increase its grain storage capacity from 360,000 tonnes to 800,000 tonnes by 2015.

According to Kovalsky, Astarta also plans to increase sugar production by 2015, to 700,000 tonnes compared to 200,000 tonnes in 2010, and the expects it will be 350,000 tonnes in 2011. Thus, the company expects to occupy 25-30% of the Ukrainian sugar market. Last year,its share was estimated at 13%.

To increase sugar production, Astarta plans to increase its refining capacity from 32,000 tonnes to 45,000 tonnes of sugar beet per day. In addition, the company plans to increase milk production from the expected 65,000 tonnes this year to more than 100,000 tonnes by 2015

Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding, which comprises five regional subunits in Poltava, Vinnytsia and Khmelnytsky regions. Its core activity is production of sugar and related foods, grain and oilseeds, as well as meat and milk.

NOTE: ASTARTA KYIV LLC is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C. www.usubc.org.