Producer
Kernel Holding S.A.
Kernel Holding S.A. (Luxembourg legal domicile; operational HQ Kyiv, Ukraine; Warsaw Stock Exchange: KER; controlled by Andrii Verevskyi ~60%+ stake; revenue ~$4-5B) is the world's largest producer of sunflower oil — responsible for approximately 10% of global sunflower oil supply from its Ukrainian crushing complex. Kernel's primary crushing facilities are in Poltava (largest single sunflower oil plant in the world by capacity), Vovchansk (Kharkiv Oblast), and Pryluky (Chernihiv Oblast). Additional port terminals at Chornomorsk (Black Sea) and Reni/Izmail (Danube) enable direct export. Pre-2022, Kernel exported primarily through Black Sea port infrastructure. Following Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion: Poltava and Pryluky crushing plants continued operating but Chornomorsk terminal operations were heavily disrupted. Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2023 compelled Kernel to shift volume to Danube terminals (Reni/Izmail) and EU road/rail — at logistics costs ~3-5x higher than Black Sea routes. Kernel also operates a major grain elevator network (~3.7 million tonne capacity), farmland (~500,000 hectares operated), and exports 70%+ of Ukrainian sunflower oil to the EU, India, and China. The company's Warsaw listing makes it the most publicly transparent window into Ukrainian agri-supply chains.
2
Inputs supplied
1
Goods downstream
5
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
2 inputs Kernel Holding S.A. supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Kernel Holding S.A. makes, pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
5 facilities
EU Danube/Rail Corridor (Romania, Bulgaria — Ukraine oilseed bypass route) →
ROConstanta / Galati / Reni (RO-UA border) · port
Following Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (July 2023), Ukraine's sunflower oil and grain exports shifted to the 'solidarity corridors' — Danube River barge (Reni/Izmail Ukraine to Galati/Constanta Romania) and EU rail. The Danube route is logistically constrained: shallow draft limits barge capacity, rail gauge differences at Polish/Slovak borders require cargo transfer. Logistics costs are 3-5x higher than Black Sea routes. Romanian port of Constanta (Black Sea) became the primary EU exit point. Kernel built dedicated Danube terminal capacity at Reni (Ukraine). Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2659
Kernel Poltava Crushing Plant →
UAPoltava Oblast · crushing_plant
One of Kernel 14 crushing plants in Ukraine; processes sunflower seeds into crude sunflower oil for export. Operations face ongoing infrastructure risk from war.
Kernel Poltava Crushing Plant (world's largest sunflower oil facility) →
UAPoltava Oblast · processing
Kernel's Poltava crushing complex is the world's largest single sunflower oil production facility by crushing capacity (~1.4 million tonnes/year sunflower seed throughput). Located in Poltava city, central Ukraine — outside main 2022 conflict zones. Kernel's primary single production asset. Supplies approximately 5-6% of global sunflower oil. Source: https://www.kernel.ua/en/our-business/oil-and-fat/
Odessa/Chornomorsk Port Complex (Ukraine Black Sea oilseed export terminal) →
UAOdessa Oblast · port
Odessa (port city) and Chornomorsk (formerly Ilyichevsk, 25km SW of Odessa) together form Ukraine's primary deep-water Black Sea export terminal for grain and sunflower oil. Kernel, Bunge, Cargill, and ADM all accessed this port complex pre-2022. Multiple missile and drone strikes targeted Odessa port grain terminals in 2023-2024 (post-Black Sea Grain Initiative). Chornomorsk is the primary Kernel oil export terminal. The port complex was central to the July 2022-July 2023 Black Sea Grain Initiative. Source: https://www.un.org/en/black-sea-grain-initiative
Ukraine Sunflower Belt (Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv oblasts) →
UADnipropetrovsk / Zaporizhzhia / Kherson / Mykolaiv oblasts · mine
The Ukrainian 'sunflower belt' — the four southern/southeastern oblasts that historically produced 55-65% of Ukraine's sunflower seed crop. As of 2024, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are partially Russian-occupied; farming in conflict zones has been severely disrupted by minefields, infrastructure destruction, and population displacement. Ukraine's total sunflower seed production declined from ~17M tonnes (2021) to ~11-12M tonnes (2022-2023). Source: https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/ukraine-oilseeds-and-products-annual-2024
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Sunflower Oil Crushing (World #1)
55%Grain Trading + Origination
25%Farming + Port Logistics
20%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Concentration2024
Kernel Holding S.A. — a single Ukrainian company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange — produces approximately 10% of the world's entire sunflower oil supply from its crushing plants in Poltava, Vovchansk, and Pryluky. Kernel's Poltava facility is the world's largest single sunflower oil production plant by annual crushing throughput (~1.4 million tonnes/year). This means one company, in one country (Ukraine), operating three crushing plants, supplies one-tenth of the global vegetable oil category that is the primary cooking oil in 40+ countries. For comparison: no single company controls 10% of global soybean oil, palm oil, or canola oil production. Kernel's concentrated position is the result of Ukraine's historically dominant position in sunflower production and the consolidation of Ukrainian crushing capacity into a single public company. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Kernel's share price on the Warsaw Stock Exchange dropped 65% in three months (January-April 2022) as markets priced the risk that the world's largest sunflower oil producer could cease operations. Kernel ultimately continued operating central/western Ukrainian facilities but at reduced throughput.
Kernel Holding S.A. ↗