The loan agreement was signed by Thomas Mirow, EBRD president, and Igor Ermolenko, CEO of Kazexportastyk. This facility is the EBRD’s first direct loan to a locally owned agricultural enterprise in Kazakhstan and in central Asia.
Kazexportastyk is a large producer and trader of grain and oil crops in northern Kazakhstan. It operates on 700,000 ha of farmland, of which 53,000 ha belong to the company and the rest to its 23-partner agrofirms, with whom it has long-term cooperation agreements covering crop financing, machinery leasing and knowledge transfer. It’s also the only grain enterprise in the country to comply with international audit standards.
The EBRD funds will support Kazexportastyk and its partner farms in expanding the use of advanced farming techniques such as conservation no-till farming, diversified crop rotation and advanced agrichemical and modern machinery use.
The EBRD facility will consist of a one-year working capital loan, arranged under a co-lending structure by The Royal Bank of Scotland. It can be renewed for an additional year.
Source: EBRD
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