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EBRD loan helps agriculture in Russia and Ukraine
$15 million loan to Nidera group to boost grains and oilseeds trading
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is making a $15 million revolving credit facility available to the Russian and Ukrainian subsidiaries of Nidera Handelscompagnie BV, an international commodity trader based in Rotterdam.
The facility will help Nidera expand its grain trading business in Russia and Ukraine and provide additional liquidity to the primary agricultural sector in those two countries. This is line with the EBRD's efforts to boost lending against agricultural commodities in Ukraine and Russia through the introduction of legislation that permits warehouse depository receipts to be used as collateral for loans.
The EBRD is very pleased to be able to work with Nidera on this transaction, which provides another practical example of how to lend against agricultural commodities, said Hans Christian Jacobsen, the EBRD's Director for Agribusiness. The deal will help inject much needed cash into the agricultural production cycle in Russia and Ukraine, which should improve productivity in the long term, he added.
Karel Valken, Finance Director of Nidera, said the deal is part of Nidera's growing presence in Eastern Europe, which it considers a market with great potential.
The EBRD has now signed 176 investments in the agribusiness sector totalling more than €3 billion, including €1 billion in Ukraine and Russia.
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