Ukrainian Distributor’s Three Keys to Market Success
5 September 2013 
A European giant, Ukraine, is utilizing its most abundant asset − land − to buoy itself during recent years of economic turbulence. Europe’s second largest country by area, USDA FAS estimates the nation uses approximately 42 million of its 60 million hectares as agricultural land. Two of the main categories of crops cultivated there, grains and oilseeds, have doubled and tripled in output respectively in the last decade, allowing for parallel growth in the crop input market. One company experiencing this positive trend firsthand is Kiev-based LLC Spectr-Agro.
Founded three years ago, just as the wave of agricultural profitability began to swell, the company has 18 branches and serves about 75% of the country. Mykola Glushko, commercial director of LLC Spectr-Agro, says the company has become his life. The business, he says, has seen the national crop input market grow 10% to 15% in the last year alone, especially in the fungicide and insecticide sectors. Climate changes, including an increase in rainfall, have contributed to this boost.
As for Glushko’s advice to other distributors looking for success in the region, he breaks it down into three categories.
Reliable Supply Chain
Glushko says there is nothing more important than the product. LLC Spectr-Agro assures its high-quality products by dealing only with reputable suppliers to avoid illegal or subpar products. Furthermore, a varied portfolio is necessary to serve the wide range of national crops that include winter wheat, oilseed, spring barley and corn, as well as sunflowers and sugar beets. Carrying 700 generic and private products from companies like DuPont, Cheminova, and Makhteshim Agan, LLC Spectr-Agro’s portfolio is well stocked to serve the vast array of crops grown in the country. Glushko says adapting to the different size operations for ordering purposes is something distributors interested in tapping into Ukraine’s growing crop input market should be aware of.
Well Trained Personnel
For what Glushko considers to be small operations (300 to 500 hectares) to midsize farms (5,000 to 7,000 hectares), distributors should be prepared to train their staff not only in sales methods, but in agronomic advice as well. To prepare its employees to offer sound agricultural expertise, the company provides training in every aspect of product knowledge, handling and safety.
Employing the motto, “Use the best in your field to be more attractive for the consumer of your yield,” the company takes education seriously. Going beyond those on its payroll, LLC Spectr-Agro also provides a series of seminars to teach farmers to use crop protection products according to high level standards. This practice, Glushko says, caters to customers that are looking for recommendations on newer products and application methods. Although he adds that the Ukrainian market is less focused on newer products and more concerned with what will keep their yields high regardless of novelty.
Keeping Up With Legislative Changes
Companies need to be able to keep up with continuously changing import and export restrictions as the nation is still experiencing growing pains in its expanding market.
Glushko says the LLC Spectr-Agro regularly updates its safety and security standards as well as pays attention to new regulations and policy implementations in order to stay on top of the ever-changing market.
Get The Newsletter Today!
