The Ukrainian Agro-Industrial & Food Forum is taking place on 31st May 2018 at the Barbizon Palace Hotel in Amsterdam, organized by Strategy Council and with the official support of the Embassy of Ukraine to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the VNO-NCW and the Ukrainian Dutch Joint Business Council.

Full information about the Forum can be found here.

The US-Ukraine Business Council is a Supporting Organization of the event and members are entitled to a 20% discount. To receive the discount, you simply need to mention the code USUBC20 when registering online.

Major synergies exist between Ukraine and the Netherlands in the agro-industrial sector and they continue to grow. Holland is the world’s 2nd largest exporter of agricultural products and technology and was ranked 3rd for FDI flows into Ukraine in 2017. In turn, Ukraine is a leading global exporter of grains, vegetable oils and oilseeds, amongst others. In 2017 Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU increased by 18.4% and the Netherlands were the no. 1 importer.

It is clear that the relationship is set to grow further and indeed there is much scope to increase cooperation in technology exchange and implementing best practice. The Forum will provide a unique platform for Ukrainian and Dutch agro-industrial and food companies to come together and discuss opportunities for further cooperation.

Key members of the speaker panel include:

  • Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European & Euro-Atlantic Integration, who will head up an official Ukrainian delegation, which also features Olga Trofimtseva, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy & Food, Oleksiy Pavlenko, former Agrarian Minister and now Co-Head of the Ukrainian Dutch Joint Business Council and H.E. Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukrainian Ambassador to the Netherlands. Hans De Boer, President of the VNO-NCW and also Co-Chair of the Ukrainian-Dutch Joint Business Council will lead the Dutch official representation;
  • Major Ukrainian agro-industrial producers and traders, including Oleksiy Vadaturskyy, CEO & Founder of Nibulon, Dmytro Los, Advisor to the CEO of MHP, Olga Rybachuk, CFO of Delta Wilmar CIS and Victor Gladky, CFO of Astarta-Kyiv;
  • Prominent Dutch agrifood professionals with extensive experience of and operations in Ukraine, such as Kees Huizinga, CEO of VV Kischenzi, Ton Huls, CFO of Mriya Agroholding, Dirk Aleven, CEO of FoodVentures, and Rene Kremers, Director of the Dutch Ukrainian Dairy Centre;
  • Leading Dutch financiers and IFIs actively financing the Ukrainian agro-industrial sector, including Reinier Douque, as well as Pieternel Boogaard, Head of Food & Agri Europe of ING, Jason Pellmar of the IFC and Wojtek Boniaszczuk of the EBRD.

Amongst the key topics for discussion are:

  • Applying Dutch expertise and technology to move Ukrainian exports of food products further up the value chain;
  • Opportunities for Ukrainian exporters of agri-food products to supply major European retail chains
  • Where is investment most needed in the value chain: spotlight on logistics and infrastructure;
  • What are the most attractive assets to invest in: port terminals, silos, elevators and storage facilities, processing and crushing plants, cold storage, rolling stock, irrigation, river transport
  • Case studies of innovative AgTech investments from leading Ukrainian agriholdings;

For further information about the Forum and how you may participate, do contact the organisers, Strategy Council:

Stephen Butler, Managing Director: Mob: +44 780 300 6824 and stephen.butler@strategy-council.com

Olga Stefantsova, Marketing Director: Mob: +380 68 259 7926 and olga.stefantsova@strategy-council.com