Moldova’s agricultural firm Trans-Oil to expand sunflower oil production

Moldova’s agricultural firm Trans-Oil is set to receive a comprehensive $150m financing package from three development banks and six commercial lenders to grow its sunflower oil production.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide $30m.

Arranged and managed by ING Bank, the facility also involves UniCredit Bank Austria, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the Dutch Development Bank FMO and Mobiasbanca, which comprises OTP Group, OTP Bank, FIMBank and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise.

Trans-Oil will also use the financing package to explore new markets and purchase grain and sunflower oilseeds from Moldovan farmers and other suppliers, as well as for storage, crushing of oilseeds, transportation and export.

The company is engaged in the production of wheat flour, oilseed crushing and oil bottling.

Trans-Oil intends to further enhance its production capacity of organic sunflower oil and high oleic sunflower oil this year.

EBRD also provided loans to Trans-Oil to support its purchases of agricultural commodities, the construction of a sunflower seed crushing plant in Ceadir Lunga, and the expansion of a grain terminal in the Moldovan port of Giurgiulești on the river Danube.

The company also secured a loan from EBRD to acquire and upgrade its grain storage facility in Reni, Ukraine.

Additionally, Trans-Oil plans to strengthen its presence in the European Union (EU), the Middle East and northern Africa.

Last month, EBRD provided a loan to Isik Organic, a Turkish exporter of organic dried fruits and nuts.

A loan of €16m from EBRD also includes €1.5m from the Clean Technology Fund, which will be issued under the bank’s Near Zero Waste programme.