Agrana Invests €27.6m in Fast-Growing Russian Market

In order to be able to tap the potential of the growing market for fruit preparations in Russia and the CIS states, this expansion project will boost production capacity by 63 % from around 38,000 tonnes currently to a level of 62,000 tonnes per year when the project has been completed.

2/23/2011 --- The Fruit segment of the sugar, starch and fruit company Agrana will be investing around €27.6m over the next five years in the expansion of its fruit preparation plant in Serpuchov, around 100km south of Moscow.

In order to be able to tap the potential of the growing market for fruit preparations in Russia and the CIS states, this expansion project will boost production capacity by 63 % from around 38,000 tonnes currently to a level of 62,000 tonnes per year when the project has been completed.   

Agrana began operations at the Serpuchov site with two production lines in May 2005 and has tripled its volume of sales since then in the course of two earlier expansion phases. With 238 personnel and annual revenues of around €55m, this subsidiary currently has a 48 % share of the regional fruit preparations market which, in addition to Russia, also includes several other CIS states and a total of approximately 217 million consumers.

Fruit preparations are used primarily in the dairy products industry in the production of fruit yoghurts but also for cakes and pastries as well as ice cream. With a current estimated pro-capital consumption level of around 3.5 kg per year, the CIS yoghurt market offers considerable growth potential compared, for example, with Poland, where this figure is approx. 8.5 kg, or top-placed Western Europe, where consumption amounts to around 16.5 kg of yoghurt per year.

“Fruit yoghurts are becoming increasingly popular in Russia and the neighbouring states as prosperity and health consciousness are rising. This expansion phase in Serpuchov is key to our being able to profit from the forecast growth of around 50 % in demand for fruit preparations from a current level of 82,000 tonnes to 124,000 tonnes per annum by 2014|15, and to consolidate our excellent market position as the quality, service and innovation leader”, says Johann Marihart, CEO of Agrana Beteiligungs-AG.