Raisio to Lay Off Entire Oil Milling Industry Personnel Until Further Notice

31 Oct 2013 --- The employee co-operation negotiations that Raisio launched at the beginning of September 2013 for the re-evaluation of operational possibilities in the oil milling industry have now been completed. Raisio decided to continue oilseed crushing but to lay off the plant personnel until further notice in early 2014. The decision concerns 15 employees.

Raisio carried out the adjustment of the oil milling operations to the market situation last winter and made investments in production efficiency and flexibility. However, these measures were not sufficient to secure profitable business in the new situation. The EU’s decision to ban the use of neonicotinoids will further weaken the availability of Finnish seed and the crushing of imported seed is not economically feasible.

Oilseed plants were grown on approximately 50,000 hectares in Finland this harvest season while three years ago, the area under oilseed cultivation was nearly 160,000 hectares. In 2013, oilseed crop was approximately 80,000 tonnes, which is only a quarter of the Finnish oil milling industry’s need and does not enable profitable business in Finland. Possible agricultural subsidy solutions supporting the oilseed cultivation in Finland are very important for the future of the business.