PROMETEY Agroholding, which had one of the largest elevator networks in the country, soon lost a third of its business in one day 3 years ago. From 30 elevators in pre-war times, now PROMETEY has only 12 functioning elevators. And this is by no means all of the company's losses after the full-scale invasion. Occupation of part of the business, constant rocket attacks on the elevators in the East of the country, mine-laying of more than 2 thousand hectares of land and mobilization of the company's employees.
(A worker of the Ministry of Emergency Situations fighting a fire after the Voznesensk grain elevator was bombed by cassette shells )
February 2022: the beginning of losses
At the beginning of 2022, PROMETEY Agroholding had 30 elevators in 11 regions of Ukraine, which provided 1.87 million tons of storage in total. In the first days of the war, four elevators of the agricultural holding in Zaporizhzhya region were occupied - that is 275 thousand tons of storage. Another 6 elevators were severely damaged as a result of shelling.
(Voznesensky elevator. Fire after shelling by cassette shells)
Among them are “Velikoaleksandrovsky elevator”, “Zolochevsky KPP”, “Snigirevsky elevator”, “Gaichursky elevator”, “Dniprovsky elevator” and “Voznesensky elevator”, which amounted to about 295 thousand tons of storage.
It is known that “Voznesensky elevator” was purposefully bombed for several days in a row. 
(Consequences of shelling of the Voznesenskoye elevator)
The elevator in liberated Snigerevka was badly damaged, so it was not possible to restore its operation.
(Destruction of the elevator “Snigerevka” after numerous shellings )
On the site of the Gaičurskoye elevator, after an enemy missile hit, in some places only bricks remained. Most of the buildings are beyond repair.
(Gaichursky Elevator after the arrival of the Russian rocket)
PROMETEY losses in figures
Only at Snigerevsky elevator more than 27 thousand tons of sunflower seeds, more than 5 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate, 6,7 thousand tons of minerals, 3,22 thousand tons of wheat and 95 thousand tons of diesel fuel were stored.
In general, the company counts losses amounting to almost UAH 500 million only from losses of agricultural products, which were stored in elevators. The company lost another 489 million hryvnias worth of fertilizers, diesel fuel and construction materials, which were stored in occupied or bombed elevators. According to the company's specialists' calculations, the amount of damaged property at the five affected enterprises already reaches almost 755 million hryvnias. The total financial losses of PROMETEY from the war so far amount to 1 billion 689 million 806 thousand hryvnias. This includes both direct losses and damage to infrastructure and material resources. And it is worth noting - these are only the losses that were able to be calculated. There are still 4 grain elevators of the company under occupation, and it is quite difficult to say about their losses.
Personnel losses
But the main loss of the company is its specialists. Now 76 employees of the company are defending the country in the ranks of the AFU. They are mainly tractor drivers, combine harvesters and drivers. In the conditions of war, it is almost impossible to find replacements for them. The production company of the agroholding is experiencing a staff shortage of narrow-profile specialists.
The way of recovery: reconstruction of damaged and purchase of new granaries
In the summer of 2022 PROMETEY buys a new elevator in Dnepropetrovsk region. And in 2023, grain storage facilities in Dnipro and Mykolayiv regions, including the elevator in Voznesensk, which was damaged by the occupants' shelling, were fully restored and put into operation. PROMETEY's elevator division director OleksandrShutov commented at the time.
The company cleared the debris, restored storage facilities and infrastructure, and put the storage facility back into operation. Now the elevator is operating in a normal mode.
The company hoped that the rapid restoration of pre-war capacities would help the agroholding to survive the war. However, unexpected difficulties appeared on the part of the Ukrainian tax authorities. Blocking of tax invoices, delays in VAT refunds, fines and other bureaucratic obstacles created additional pressure that the agroholding can barely withstand. So, instead of supporting the agribusiness sector at such a difficult time, the tax authorities are literally destroying the business, which is already barely surviving.
Impact of the war on the agribusiness sector
During the three years of war Prometey had to reduce its staff, close some of its elevators and attract bank loans to stay afloat. The situation was similar in many other companies in the agricultural sector. The loss of significant territories, contamination of land by mines and shells, and destruction of infrastructure led to a reduction in production and exports.
Were the state authorities able to support agrarians during this critical period? Unfortunately, many businesses feel resistance rather than support. VAT freezing, inspections, putting companies on the risk list only intensify the crisis. PROMETEY believes that the challenges of war can be turned into opportunities. All that is needed is for all government agencies to become partners of business in the restoration of the agribusiness sector.
