Despite the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian dealer and importer Technotorg is continuing to import Claydon machinery for its customers.
The latest shipment from the Claydon factory in Suffolk is due to arrive in the coming days to help the country’s farmers establish a range of spring-sown crops, including sunflowers, soybeans, maize and cereals. It is the first of many deliveries scheduled this year, comprising 4m T4 and 6m T6 trailed seed drills.
Claydon began exporting to Ukraine five years ago and in 2020 appointed Anatoliy Penzin, a Ukrainian national, as national territory manager to develop sales in the fast-growing market. Throughout the conflict, Mr Penzin has continued to provide sales, practical and technical support to Technotorg LLC, based in Mykolaiv, a town in the south of the country on the Southern Bug River and close to the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s agribusiness sector has been the most promising sector of the country’s economy. Its 41.5 million hectares of agricultural land represent about 70% of the total area and make up around 25% of the world’s reserves of black soil. Agriculture is the largest export industry and in 2020 generated approximately 9.3% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Crop farming accounts for 73% of agricultural output, with corn, wheat, and barley the main grain crops. In 2020 the gross grain harvest amounted to 65.4 million tons, three times the domestic market requirement. Oilseeds are the second most important subsector, the major oil crops being sunflower, soy, and rapeseed. In the mid-2000s, Ukraine developed a leading sunflower oil industry and became the world’s number one exporter of this product.
“It is heart-breaking to see what is happening in Ukraine,” Simon Revell, the Claydon’s export manager, said. “When the conflict started Anatoliy and his family were forced to flee their home in Kyiv, the country’s capital, but despite huge personal disruption he continues to do everything possible to assist our distributor and customers in Ukraine.
“Despite the tragedy unfolding around them they are determined to continue operating as normally as possible, so I and my colleagues at Claydon are doing all we can to support them through this very difficult time.”
