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Ivan Chaikivsky: «In order to save and develop business, one must learn to economize»

22.05.2014 06:46:20

Agroprodservice, PAC has already appeared in focus of our magazine. But at the time when the situation in the country isn’t constant, the history of the farm, which emerged from desolation and within fifteen years of work became one of Ukrainian pig market leaders, encourages optimism and teaches to develop business no matter what the circumstances are. How to save the business in challenging times, told us the general manager Ivan Chaikivsky.

— Ivan Adamovich, nowadays «Agroprodservice», PAC enters to five the most powerful Ukrainian pigfarms. Do you remember what it starts with?

— Of course I do! It all started 19 December, 1998, when I was chaired the Owners association «Kolos». The farm was absolute financial bankrupt and I had to invest my own money. For them we fixed the equipment, saved the existing pig and cattle livestock, plowed and planted fields. And when things became to improve a little, creditors started to visit us hardly. At that moment the farm’s debt was about six million grivnas ($3,3 mln), when the average retired pay was 30 UAH and the salary — 50 UAH.

I realized, when the harvest would come, creditors would take all that we had managed to recover. We had to find the out from the blind corner, the circumstances drove us to. The only thing I invented then was to create a private owned enterprise, leased land from peasants and gave them work. The life confirmed it was the only right way out. So, June 11, 1999 the Agroprodservice, PAC appeared. At that moment our land-bank was 819 ha (for comparison, nowadays is 42 thousand ha). First steps in pigbreeding we did in September 1999, when got the pigcomplex in Nastashka and twenty piglets.

— It turns out, that this was the start of the swine direction of the corporation «Agroproservice»?

— Not exactly. The first period of farming wasn’t very easy for me. There were only 200 pigs of low-yield breeds on the farm in the 2004. We had to start almost from nothing.

First reproducer was created in 2005. In spring in 2006 we brought pig Chernivtsy and Dnipropetrovsk regions and got the status of nucleus (from 2009 — stud farm). Simultaneously we reconstructed nursery with capacity of 4,5 thousand piglets.

Even then I realized that with the domestic breeding livestock «we won’t go far», so in the 2007 we brought first rearing stock from Poland. In 2010 we began to buy breeding animals from Denmark. Now we have signed a new contract with the Denmark for ten thousand pigs. We have already brought 1300. Unfortunately, further delivers were stopped due to the unstable economic situation, including
currency operations.

— Does your business feel the economic crisis in Ukraine?

— We are not exception. The economic crisis didn’t not pass us. The more expensive currency in Ukraine, that, unfortunately, has become a major equivalent in the relationship between producer and consumer, the higher the self cost of production. Because of the feed, various supplements, vitamins and veterinary preparations bought for the currency. And then either raise the price per kilogram of pig live weight or work in loss.

One hope is that the situation will align. ‘Cause agricultural economy won’t survive long in such economic force majeure. Working «in minus» or «in zero» leads to bankruptcy. Therefore, the state needs to protect national producers with all available means.

1. How did the structure of the corporation «Agroprodservice» change from 2011?

2. There are constant partner banks, that raise funds, which ones?

3. What should we do in a crisis in the country according to the advice by John Adamovych?

4. How to support agriculture of «new» Ukraine?


You can find answers for these and other questions in the full version of the interview in the magazine «Profitable Pig Production», № 2 (20) 2014.


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