Foreign Policy of Ambar Export BKW

Yulia Zabotina, CEO of Ambar Export BKW
Photo by: Latifundist.com

Last year Ambar Export BKW became one of the ten largest Ukrainian wheat exporters. The company shipped 400 thousand tons of grain abroad. And it is worth mentioning that the company conducts the complete chain of exports: from the farmer to the end buyer. In terms of figures, this is one vessel per week or 47 vessels in 9 months. The company exports grain to the countries of the Mediterranean basin and the Persian Gulf, to the European Union, and in 2017/18 MY Ambar Export BKW plans to master the Asian market. Recently Ambar Export BKW established a new company Ambar Trading in Switzerland with the headquarters in Zug.

Latifundist.com selected the main theses from the exclusive interview for Elevatorist.com with Yulia Zabotina, CEO of Ambar Export BKW, revealing the company's strategy of promoting the company on foreign markets.

Top-exporter of grain

In 2016, Ambar Export BKW entered the rating of the leading wheat exporters. The company supplied goods to foreign markets for the amount of UAH 1,179 billion. The company exports wheat (78.88%), barley (10.4%), corn (7.46%), vegetables and legumes (3.26%).

Ambar Export BKW exports grain to the Mediterranean basin countries — Egypt, Israel, Tunisia, Lebanon, Algeria, as well as to the EU countries, in particular — Italy, Greece, Spain. The company has experience in working with the Persian Gulf countries, and in 2017/18 MY plans to develop the Asian market.

Ambar Export BKW carries out grain export through the world brokerage offices, which have an impeccable reputation and can protect sellers from existing risks.

Synergy with agricultural producers

Ambar Export BKW provides agricultural producers with the opportunity to become exporters themselves. The company acts as a commission agent, and the agricultural producers become exporters. This allows producers to optimize the tax burden and improve the profitability of the grain production business. When exporting agricultural products, a zero VAT rate is applied, which significantly optimizes the tax obligations that farmers face when selling agricultural products.

Swiss office of Ambar Trading

In Switzerland, BKW established a new company — Ambar Trading — with the headquarters in Zug. In addition to image preferences, and having an account in a first-class European bank, it is also possible to conduct a completely different financial history than in Ukraine. It is assumed that this company will provide 90% of the profit from the entire trading area. The company will be engaged in attracting financing and trading activities, such as providing trades, chartering ships, and selling. Moreover, Ambar Trading will cover freight forwarder's services, transshipments and, perhaps, financing to the forward. The task of Ambar Export BKW will remain the same: to buy grain in the Ukrainian market and send it to the port.

Focus on the private carriers

Initially, Ambar Export BKW shipped grain only through the Berdyansk STP. Today, shipments go through the port in Nikolaev. In terms of exports, the Black Sea is considered for shipment. Both in Nikolaev and Berdyansk ports, the company cooperates with its strategic partner — Ascet Shipping, the stevedoring company.

The company prefers working with private companies on the railway. According to Yulia Zabotina, working with Ukrzaliznytsya today is a luxury. For Ambar Export BKW it is more effective to cooperate with private carriers, even though they have a higher tariff. The company will pay more if Ukrzaliznytsya fails to fulfil its obligations due to force majeure. Here they can not risk their reputation.

The main component of the success of Ambar Export BKW is the synergy of BKW group of companies: the mentioned exporting company, the agricultural holding LANDFORT and the distribution company Bizon-Tech.

Aleksey Beskletko, Inna Vorobieva, Latifundist.com