Cargill has finalized its commitment to become the majority (51%) shareholder of its joint venture Neptune. The deep water port terminal in the Odessa region of the Black Sea provides Ukrainian farmers with another highly competitive access to global grain markets, enabling them to further increase their crop production.

Today’s commitment marks a significant milestone to finalize a project which started in 2016 when Cargill and its local partners, Andrey Stavnitser and Yegor Grebennikov, signed an agreement to construct a terminal in Port Yuzhni, since renamed Port Pivdennyi. The terminal was constructed by MV Cargo and became operational in 2019. [Cargill is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council.]

Neptune offers modern equipment that meets the highest standards. With technical trans-shipment capacity of around 5 million tons of grain per year, it is one of the largest infrastructures of this type in the region and is able to load all the different grains and oilseeds exported from Ukraine.

Neptune has a deep-water berth of 16 meters to attract high tonnage vessels, connecting farmers with new and more remote markets in an economically feasible way.

“The investment in Neptune allows Cargill to better leverage its operations to feed a growing population by moving crops to areas around the world where they are most in need,” said Philippa Purser, president of Cargill’s Agriculture and Supply Chain business in Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Neptune adds to Cargill’s footprint of port facilities in the Black Sea region and confirms our intention to continue investing in Ukraine’s agricultural sector.”

“By partnering with Cargill to form this joint venture, we have expanded our global reach and internationalized Neptune’s customer service,” said Andrey Stavnitser, co-owner of Neptune. “Neptune’s major goal is to provide every Ukrainian farmer with access to the global markets, enabling the farmers to increase added value.”

Neptune serves a number of customers - primarily exporters of corn, barley and wheat - and is continually looking to grow its customer portfolio. Cargill remains an important customer of the terminal, exporting a significant amount of its Ukraine grain export volumes through the new port.

Cargill as the majority shareholder will manage the strategic direction of Neptune while the local team at the terminal will manage the daily operations.

Neptune employees around 200 workers as well as an additional 100 contractors. A further 1,000 jobs will also be created indirectly through partner organizations.

About Cargill

Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive.

We combine 155 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

USUBC NOTE:  Cargill is a long-time member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC),