American agricultural cooperative CHS Inc., one of the world’s largest grain traders, is winding down its operations in Ukraine. The company is maintaining only a representative office and reducing staff due to war-related risks, lack of shareholder approval to resume operations via deepwater ports, and challenging market conditions.
“CHS maintains a presence in Ukraine. At the same time, we are currently downsizing the team due to market conditions and operational needs,” the company told Latifundist.
CHS Inc. is the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the U.S. and a global grain trader. In Ukraine, the company has operated since 2008 through its subsidiary “CHS Ukraine,” exporting corn, wheat, and niche crops, as well as engaging in toll processing of oilseeds.
Among CHS’s major investments was the joint grain terminal Olimpex Coupe International in Odessa, into which it invested around $30 million. Later, a dispute arose between the partners, and CHS exited the project, partially recovering its investment through international arbitration.
During the 2010s, CHS actively expanded its network of regional offices, collaborated with Ukrainian farmers, and in 2021 achieved record export volumes of over 1.5 million tons of grain. After Russia’s full-scale invasion, CHS, like most international traders, shifted logistics to the Danube ports and Constanța in Romania. The Ukrainian subsidiary exported up to 600,000 tons of grain per year but did not receive approval from CHS’s Board of Directors to resume operations via Black Sea ports after their reopening in fall 2023.
This decision proved critical — the company lost its competitive position, and trading volumes fell to less than 100,000 tons per year. Against this backdrop, in summer 2025, the cooperative decided to effectively close its Ukrainian office.
CHS Inc. is a cooperative owned by more than 325,000 U.S. farmers. It is engaged in the purchase, storage, processing, and export of grains and has assets in over 70 countries worldwide.
