OREANDA-NEWS. HarvEast has decided to set up a stand-alone business, HarvEastLogistics, to reduce its transportation costs by centralising management of in-house truck fleet.

The unit will operate 43 KAMAZ drawbar combinations with a total carrying capacity of 1,000 tonnes in grain equivalent. The move will help the holding to reduce significantly its dependence on outside carriers and minimize its finished products transportation costs.

HarvEast Holding is an agricultural group of companies, which owns and manages assets in Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Cherkassy, Zhytomir Oblasts and the Crimea. The Holding's focus areas include crop raising (wheat, sunflower, barley, permanent grasses and corn) and dairy farming.

Established on 10 March 2011, HarvEast Holding evolved from the assets previously owned by Ilyich Steel Plant. The overall bank of farmland is around 220 hectares and total livestock exceeds 22,000 heads.

The shareholders of HarvEast Holding are the SCM Group and Smart Holding.