830 loans have been approved for the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector under the Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme (UCGS).
The latest figures published by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) show that an additional 56 loans for the sector were approved by the end of April.
774 UCGS loan applications made by the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector were approved by the end of March.
The value of the 830 approved loans for the sector is worth almost €44 million.
Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme
The Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme provides viable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small mid-caps, including primary producers, impacted by economic challenges arising from the war in Ukraine with access to low-cost finance.
The scheme is overseen by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Loans under the scheme range from €10,000 to €1 million, for terms of up to six years.
The finance is offered through a range of products, including term loans, working capital loans and overdrafts.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector accounts for the highest amount of approved loans (26%).
The data shows that 755 out of the 830 approved loans for the sector worth €39.7 million had been drawn down by the end of April.
Across all sectors, 3,252 loans have been approved under the scheme, worth a total of over €300 million.
The wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles is the sector with the highest loan approval value at over €55.7 million relating to 501 approved loans.
The Department of Enterprise has said that the €1.2 billion scheme will be available until December 31, 2024, or until it is fully subscribed.