The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing the Ukrainian subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), the world's largest agricultural trader, with a loan of up to $35 million.

The corresponding agreement was signed by Oleksandr Karpenko, the director general of Louis Dreyfus Company Ukraine, Susan Goeransson, the head of the EBRD infrastructure division, and Herve Sahores, the financial director for EMEA region at LDC, during a meeting at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

"The funds will be used to acquire up to 1,000 grain hopper railcars, which will significantly facilitate grain handling logistics for the company. LDC will be able to diversify its means of transporting grains from the country's agricultural areas to its ports," a press release of the EBRD reads.

"The new railcars will reduce the volume of grain transported by trucks and will therefore help to lower annual carbon dioxide emissions by 8,510 tonnes," it says.

"In 2019, Ukraine is expecting a record grain harvest of more than 72 million tonnes, of which more than 50 million tonnes will be exported. Domestic grain hopper railcars, most of which are heavily depreciated, carry 70% of all grain traffic to the country's seaports for export. The addition of new grain hoppers will significantly increase the effectiveness of grain handling logistics and will strengthen Ukraine's competitiveness in the market competition," according to the document.