Ukrainean pig company KSG Agro expands operations

The fattening unit can house 2,400 piglets and boasts modern German equipment, the company said in a statement.

“The introduction of a new fattening unit allowed us to increase the number of pigs. Since the beginning of the year, the number has grown by 24%, from 50,000 to 62,000 heads. This is our contribution to strengthening the food security of Ukraine,” commented Sergey Kasyanov, chairman of the board of KSG Agro.

Since the beginning of the war with Russia, KSG Agro managed to expand its staff by 30%, Irina Palivoda, HR director of the company, estimated.

“From the very beginning of the war, we said that we see our front as a labour front because the scope of our activity determines the food security of the state,” said Kasyanov. “We develop both traditional and new areas, for example, the production of marbled pork on an industrial scale. Thus, we did everything possible to preserve the backbone of our team.”

Some of the new employees are temporarily displaced, Ukrainian citizens. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, millions of Ukrainians have had to leave their homes in the territories impacted by the Russian invasion in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhe and Kherson regions.

“We have employed more than 30 migrants at the enterprises and farms of the holding. In these difficult times, we motivate people, first of all, by increasing incomes: our average salary has grown by 30%.” Kasyanov said, adding that temporarily displaced persons work both in the grain and pork production divisions.

Dnipro is a near-frontline region suffering from constant shelling and missile attacks, incredibly intensive in the past few months. Fortunately, the company has avoided destruction so far.

“For security purposes, the company’s personnel are transported to and from work by vehicles at the expense of the holding,” Kasyanov said, adding that the company managed to strengthen its positions in the regional pork market. “An important factor securing the growth in the number of personnel was an increase in the share of KSG Agro products at the Dnipro region pork market from 50% to 80%,” he added.