Lee Jong-sun, third from left, production division manager of Daedong, poses with the company's employees and the Ukrainian delegation led by Sen. Oleksander Denysenko, fourth from left, at the Korean firm's agricultural equipment manufacturing plant in Daegu, Nov. 19. Courtesy of Daedong
Farming machine makers anticipate ceasefire in ‘Europe’s breadbasket’
By Park Jae-hyuk
Competition is heating up between Korea’s major farming machine manufacturers to sell their products in Ukraine amid growing expectations that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will end the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Daedong recently became the first Korean agricultural equipment maker to sell a large volume of products in Ukraine since Russia began its invasion in February 2022, as the company signed an agreement with a Ukrainian farming machine importer this month to supply tractors worth 30 billion won ($21 million) over the next three years.
The agreement was reached five months after they signed a contract in June for the supply of 10 Daedong tractors to Ukrainian farmers, allowing them to test the machines in the country’s highly fertile soil.
Daedong explained that the latest supply deal was the result of positive feedback from the farmers regarding the quality of its products and services that it offered during the testing of its tractors.
TYM CEO Kim Do-hoon, left, and Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko pose at the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul, Nov. 18, after the Korean company decided to donate farming machines worth 550 million won ($393,520) to the war-torn country. Courtesy of TYM
Before Daedong revealed the contract, TYM was seen as the primary beneficiary of Ukraine's post-war reconstruction, having donated farming machines to the war-torn country every year since 2022, thus establishing itself as Daedong's main rival.
TYM also participated last month in a meeting of companies interested in the reconstruction of post-war Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian lawmaker Dmytro Pryputen visited TYM’s headquarters in Seoul, prompting the Korean firm’s stock price to hit the daily limit high after the announcement of his visit.
However, it was revealed belatedly that Ukrainian Sen. Oleksander Denysenko visited Daedong in August to initiate discussions about the company’s participation in the post-war reconstruction of the country.
This month, Denysenko made another three-day visit to Daedong’s Seoul office and a manufacturing plant in Daegu to support the Ukrainian government in helping the country’s farmers purchase the Korean firm’s agricultural machinery.
According to Daedong, the Ukrainian politician said that his country wants to restore its agriculture with the company’s machines and to boost the bilateral partnership for future-oriented agriculture.
Long known as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine was the world’s fourth-largest exporter of agricultural products before Russia's invasion.
A report published by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency showed that the size of Ukraine’s annual import of tractors reached $790 million in 2022 and rose 4.6 percent to $830 million in 2023.
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