Yatseniuk: US company 'sees us as a truly reliable and good place'

KIEV, Feb. 24 - US agriculture giant Cargill signed a major investment deal in a Ukrainian grain terminal Wednesday that Washington's ambassador said could help turn the struggling ex-Soviet republic into an exporting "superpower,” AFP reported.

The $100 million deal with Ukraine's M.V. Cargo loading and unloading firm comes against the backdrop of foreign jitters about doing business in a country struggling to root out corruption and fighting pro-Russian insurgents in the separatist east.

Ukrainian officials said the agreement marked an important show of trust by major corporations in the future potential of their economically-ravaged east European state.

"This was a first step made by Ukraine that makes our American partners see us as a truly reliable and good place for making investments," Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said at the signing ceremony.

Agriculture Minister Oleksiy Pavlenko said Ukraine -- once known as the breadbasket of Europe -- expects to have exported a record 37 million metric tons of grain between July 2015 and June 2016.

Ukrainian officials aid the port will have an initial annual loading capacity of five million mt of grain that could later be expanded by about 50 percent.

Cargill said it expected the terminal's construction to be completed by the spring of 2018.

"This new port will benefit Ukrainian farmers, the overall economy and global food security," Cargill's European grains and oilseeds business chief Andreas Rickmers said in a statement.

"It will add to our footprint of port facilities in the Black Sea region and confirms our intention to keep investing in Ukraine’s agricultural sector."

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt hailed the deal but also cautioned the Ukrainian government about the importance of pushing ahead with anti-graft measures that could open the door to future investments from abroad.

"Ukraine is already one of the world's great agricultural producers, but it should be an agricultural superpower," Pyatt said in remarks released by his office.

Pyatt said future US agricultural investors were looking for the pro-Western leadership in Kiev to demonstrate "a clear and unambiguous commitment to the path of reform."

"And they are looking for a government and a presidency that demonstrates a clear commitment to continued progress on the rule of law, to include the critical issue of anti-corruption reform," Pyatt was quoted as saying at the signing ceremony.

Ukraine has been riven by weeks of political turmoil that has seen officials and ministers trade accusations of influence peddling and graft.

The ruling coalition has been coming apart at the seams since Yatseniuk won a February 16 no-confidence vote that came only hours after President Petro Poroshenko urged his government leader to step down.

The tumult has sparked worry among some of Ukraine's allies that Kiev may be failing to follow through on the hopes for change of pro-EU protesters that toppled the country's Russian-backed leadership in February 2014.

Cargill is a 150-year-old global conglomerate that reports operating around 500 cargo vessels a day.

It has been ranked as the largest US unlisted company by Forbes magazine. (afp/ez)