Danone Investments in Russia Grow Non-Stop Despite Sanctions - CEO

The French-based global milk producer Danone is due to invest approx. $700 million in five years from 2012, according to Bernard Ducros, CEO of Danone Russia.

“We continue to invest into business development, opening new product lines. We are eager to complete our investments, planned until 2017”, Mr. Ducros told journalists.

In 2014, when the international sanctions against Russia were introduced, Danone put into its Russian assets about $150 m. The ongoing five-year-long modernization is aimed at bringing production into line with international quality and eco standards, the Danone Russia CEO said. The total size of Danone’s Russian investments is more than $2 billion, it operates 20 factories in the country and has about eleven thousand employees.

Russia gave up to France first place in company sales in 2014, making 9% of its revenues, which is the size of Danone sales in the USA, as reflected in Danone’s annual report. The report owes the 2% fall primarily to the Russian national currency devaluation and 30% growth of milk prices, compared to 2013.

Earlier this year one of Danone’s competitors, US-based Mead Johnson Nutrition Company, closed its business in Russia as it was unable to manage its sales in the country.

According to an earlier publication by the Vedomosti newspaper, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development owned a 7.1% share of Danone Russia, despite taking part in anti-Russian sanctions, imposed by some Western countries in 2014.