6 Japanese Companies to Sign Memorandums with Ukrainian Govt for Agricultural Reconstruction in Ukraine

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:29 JST, February 16, 2024

Six Japanese companies, including agricultural machinery makers, are expected to sign memorandums with the Ukrainian government at an upcoming Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Reconstruction scheduled to take place Monday in Tokyo. The memorandums are for the firms to provide farm machinery and high-tech equipment as a measure to support Ukraine’s agriculture.

Kubota Corp. and Yanmar Agribusiness Co. will discuss with Ukraine’s Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry the introduction of lightweight, durable tractors.

Industrial refrigerator maker Mayekawa MFG. Co. will send high-humidity cold storage systems that can keep harvested fruits fresh for longer. Mebiol Inc., an agricultural technology company based in Kanagawa Prefecture, will send hydrogel films that can be used to grow vegetables even where there is no soil.

On the business-to-business front, Shizuoka Prefecture-based startup Allied Carbon Solutions is expected to sign a memorandum for a demonstration project with a Ukrainian agrochemical manufacturer aiming to introduce its technology to produce a natural surfactant by fermenting vegetable oil. The startup will support Ukraine’s export of a surfactant made from rapeseed — the country’s specialty crop — to Europe and elsewhere.

About 70% of Ukraine is farmland and agriculture accounted for 10% of its gross domestic product in 2019 before Russia’s aggression. Some estimates show the country had suffered damages of between $4 billion to $6 billion (¥600 billion to ¥900 billion) as of June 2022.