Letter: Ukraine chicken baron’s environmental footprint

7 September 2026, Financial Times

The Ukrainian success story of poultry giant MHP is anything but for the communities that live in the shadows of its factories (“War fails to clip wings of Ukraine’s chicken baron”, FT Series Big Chicken, September 4).

MHP operates the largest agricultural enterprise in the Vinnytsia region, managing extensive cropland for chicken feed production. Its environmental footprint is massive. For the last five years, locals have monitored water quality near the MHP site, detecting alarming levels of nitrate contamination, especially in groundwater that people rely on for drinking.

In Olianytsia, nitrate concentrations in one well had risen to 585mg per litre by March 2026, more than 11 times the maximum safety limit permitted under European and Ukrainian legislation. In nearby Zaozerne, an analysis of the public water supply revealed nitrate levels at 95 mg/l, nearly double the safety limit, suggesting that nitrates are penetrating deeper aquifers.

Locals have brought these concerns to MHP and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which unlike commercial lenders has specific policies attached to its loans to protect the environment and ensure engagement with people affected.

The upshot is that the project’s partners are in discussions to find solutions for the pollution allegations. Some of the options being explored include conducting joint site monitoring, providing impact assessments and environmental data, and delivering clean piped water to affected villages. The ball is now in MHP’s court to set up a process that delivers on these proposals.

MHP and the EBRD may not be able to placate European farmers competing with its dominance in the EU, but they can show responsibility and help facilitate a resolution for those left in the company’s wake.

Read the full letter to the editor here: Letter: Ukraine chicken baron’s environmental footprint