Business Concept
Experienced management team with significant farming expertise
The Group has been involved in agricultural crop production since 1994. The Group's management team includes experienced farming professionals with western European training and local language skills. The management team has established good working relationships with local, municipal and state authorities and customers which the Directors believe will help the Group to capitalise on additional opportunities in the future.
The Board is committed to applying appropriate standards of corporate governance for overseeing the execution of its strategy.
Use of advanced farming techniques
The Group focuses on increasing the productivity and profitability of its land under crop by utilising modern farming equipment and technologies, as well as high quality inputs and modern cultivation practices. In particular, the Group implements best practices for planning, cultivation and harvesting, which include continuous crop analysis, detailed planning processes and the application of optimised crop rotation strategies. CFTG employs a team of in-house agronomists and also employs the agronomic expertise of the Scottish Agricultural College and other external technical specialists.
Significant storage, infrastructure and logistics capacity
The Group has approximately 78,000 tonnes of storage capacity situated in close proximity to its agricultural operations. This gives the group flexibility in relation to the timing of the sale of its crops, control product quality, and reduce third-party risks during delivery of its products. The Directors believe that these factors contribute significantly to achieving improved pricing terms. The Group's modern grain storage facilities are equipped with crop cleaning and drying equipment, which assists in relation to the production of higher quality crops. In Ukraine, the Group's storage is well located to facilitate transfer of products to its customers.
Track record of yield improvement
Since commencing farming in Poland, the management team has delivered improvements in crop yields and developed a proven working model for profitable large scale farming. Similarly its crop yields in Ukraine are in excess of the Ukrainian average crop yields. The Group has expanded to become a significant producer in the Lviv region.
High quality land portfolio
The Group leases approximately 35,000 hectares in western Ukraine, which is in close proximity to the border with Poland and has significantly higher levels of precipitation than other areas of Ukraine thus increasing its suitability for the growth of arable crops. The Group's Ukrainian land bank is organised in a cluster which reduces production and logistics costs and is located close to the city of Lviv which provides access to required infrastructure and personnel.
Efficiencies and economies of scale
The Group has benefited from economies of scale arising from its growth, and expects to benefit further as it expands its scope of operations. Given the size of the Group's land bank, its Block Management organisation and the large average size of the Group's fields, it is able to use larger farm equipment that can seed, spray and harvest more land with each pass, which enables the Group to improve its efficiency, increase work rates and reduce production costs. The Group has a continuous focus on the negotiation of better sales and trading terms and more favourable buying terms from its suppliers. The Directors believe that the growth in the size of the Group's operations will allow it to provide better training for existing employees and attract and retain specialised industry talent.