Interfax | 10 October 2022
IMC in talks with EBRD and IFC on loans for three development projects
IMC agricultural holding is negotiating with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on the possibility of lending to new development projects for the company: digital farming, bioenergy and the purchase of agricultural machinery, Alex Lissitsa, the CEO of IMC Agricultural Holding, said.
At the recent Forbes conference "Without Rose-Colored Glasses. Business and the State During the War," he indicated that even before the end of August, the company planned to switch to idle mode with the payment of 50% of the salary to employees, since "the whole situation shows that this the best option for us," but then this decision was revised.
Lissitsa explained that the main risk of such a downtime would be the loss of the team and its competencies, so it was decided to take on three new development projects.
According to him, the digital farming project launched due to the lack of fertilizers and the necessary funding has already shown savings of 25% of fertilizers and record yields, so it will be expanded.
The IMC general director added that it is planned to develop biomethane and bioethanol in bioenergy.
As for the purchase of agricultural equipment, he explained the interest in this project by the presence of the necessary competencies and the large unsatisfied demand for such equipment in regions with high military risks.
"We hope that we will find funds for these three projects," Lissitsa said.
IMC specializes in the cultivation of cereals, oilseeds and milk production in Ukraine. It processes about 123,300 hectares of land in Poltava, Chernihiv and Sumy regions. It owns storage facilities for 554,000 tonnes of grain and oilseeds.