denotes premium content | Jan 10 2009 
News
posted 1 Dec 2008
Deal news
EBRD lends $30m for Ukraine
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has extended a five-year $30m working-capital loan to Ukrainian agribusiness Desnagrain. The deal will help finance the purchase of seeds and fertilizers by farmers, as well as the purchase of malting barley, oil seeds and other grains by Desnagrain from the farmers.
Desnagrain is a wholly-owned subsidiary of French agricultural cooperative Champagne Céréales and the EBRD finance will be matched by Calyon.
The barley is intended for the brewing industry and the deal will make use of the warehouse-receipt system as collateral for the debt, which the EBRD has been encouraging. “Desnagrain works closely with farmers, currently around 400, to improve the quality and yield of their crops through technical and finance assistance and training. This will provide increased cash flows to continue the much-needed restructuring of the Ukrainian primary agricultural sector,” said Paul Roux, chief financial officer of Champagne Céréales.
