April 2 2008, 08:38

Experts forecast new international players to enter the ketchup and dressings market of Ukraine

To the opinion of Andriy Yarmak, the head of "Fruit-Inform" project, the purchase of 70% of the shares of "Chumak" company by the investment funds Dragon Capital and East Capital Bering Ukraine Fund may prove the interest of the serious international investor to this sector. The representatives of these funds announced about the absence of the plans to sell this asset; despite of this fact, to the opinion of A. Yarmak, the new owners will try to increase the capitalization of the enterprise as fast as possible and to sell it to the strategic investor with a huge experience on the international market.

"Ukraine's entrance to WTO became the positive sign for the international companies; that's why we should expect for another wave of interest to Ukrainian assets from the side of the international companies", Andriy Yarmak says. To his opinion, "Chumak" may also be of interest to such companies as Heinz, Unilever or Kraft, and also Russian "Baltimor" and "Petrosoyuz" companies. This asset remains potentially interesting for Nestle, which actually owns the sole share of ketchup market of Ukraine, represented by "Volynkholding" company (TM "Torchin Product"). However, the further increase of the market share may lead to the problems with the anti-trust legislation of Ukraine. Also, the mentioned Russian companies are not likely to purchase "Chumak"; to the opinion of the market players, these companies are actively getting to be sold themselves.

As of today, to the opinion of "Fruit-Inform" analysts, Ukraine is actually the only country of Europe where the highly efficient and large-scale production of commercial tomatoes may be actively built up in accordance with the most advanced technologies. Ukraine possesses the potential to irrigate more than 2 mln. ha of lands, the hot climate in the southern regions of the country and the largest daylight hours among the countries where the commercial tomatoes are grown. Having these advantages, Ukraine may become the largest producer of tomatoes for the processing and the production of tomato paste in the region. To the opinion of Andriy Yarmak, all international companies, which are working in the mentioned sphere, are potentially interested to get assess to a such perspective source of raw materials.