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Danone stays in Russia, Valio leaves
The French food group Danone will remain active in Russia, but will suspend all investments for the time being. In addition, the company has two factories in Ukraine: one is closed, the other is being restarted. Danone has set itself the goal of continuing to feed people, said CEO Laurent Sacchi.
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The decision to remain active in Russia has drawn Danone criticism from those who believe that Western businesses should withdraw from Russia. Director Laurent Sacchi disagrees and states that it is important to 'meet the essential food needs of people on the spot.'
Danone has eighteen factories in Russia, with 8.000 employees. Of the 18 factories, 9 are where Danone's main brand of yogurt is produced in Russia: Prostokvashino. One of Danone's largest factories is in Chekhov, near Moscow.
Also factories in Ukraine
Danone's factories in Ukraine are located in Dnepropetrovsk (Dnipro) and Kremensjoeg, both in the central part of Ukraine, where fighting sometimes occurs. Ukraine is Danone's third sales market, after France and Spain.
The Finnish Valio, which also has significant sales in Russia, will stop operations in the country. The company has a cheese factory near Moscow, works with companies that produce under contract and has sales offices in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. It employs 400 people in the country and has an annual turnover of around 85 million.
Valio shuts down all operations as quickly as possible. It first wanted to inform all those involved within the company and was therefore only able to release the news on March 7, it said. It previously stopped all exports from Finland to Russia and Belarus.