Germany's KWS intends to commission second stage of seed plant in Ukraine at beginning of 2024

MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) - KWS Ukraine LLC, a subsidiary of Germany's KWS Group, one of the world's leading companies in the area of selection and production of agricultural seeds, plans to commission the second stage of the seed complex at the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian media reported, citing a statement from the Ukrainian company posted on social media.

"The decision to construct a modern seed-production plant in Ukraine in 2015 was a logical step in the development of our production concept, with the aim of ensuring local sales of high-performance hybrids of corn seeds of German selection [...] The project was terminated in 2022, though KWS has remained steadfast in its commitment [...] Completing the second production line is integral proof of KWS's commitment to sustainable growth and contribution to the prosperity of Ukraine," according to the statement.

KWS Ukraine said that production capacity of the seed conditioning complex in Kamenets-Podolsky would increase to 700,000 sowing units of corn per season. Overall investment should total nearly 35 million euros since the start of the project in 2015.

The second stage is similar to the first, as it includes a receiving unit, husking tables, a specialized dryer, a milling unit, and a seed-processing line.

"With the EU's recognition of equivalence for seeds grown in Ukraine, we have expanded our capabilities. We have been successfully exporting seeds to EU markets since autumn 2021, consolidating the position of our seed plant in Kamenets-Podolsky in the European production network of KWS," according to the statement.

Founded in 1856 in Germany, KWS also has production sites located in the United States, Turkey, and France, and has representative offices in more than 70 countries.

Founded in 2001, KWS Ukraine LLC offers agricultural producers the seeds of sugar beets, fodder beets, corn, sunflowers, rapeseed, rye, and barley.