May 12 2008, 08:58

Russia: Closed JSC "Breeding farm "Prinevskoye" launched a large vegetable storage with packing lines

"Prinevskoye" farm, one of the largest agricultural producers of Leningradskaya region launched the vegetable storage of 6,000 tons capacity; the packing lines are also installed there, RBC Daily SPb informs. The investments to this project amounted to around $ 6 mln. The company intends to avoid the intermediary service and to work independently on the market of storage and packing thanks to the own vegetable storage launched. The market players consider the investments of the single farms to such project to have perspectives in Leningradskaya region - they are likely to better meet the requirements of the retail chains.

Closed JSC "Breeding farm "Prinevskoye" is one of the largest agricultural producers of Leningradskaya region. The key businesses are dairy farming, goat breeding, and the production of vegetables, champignons and flowers. The company owns around 2,300 ha of the agricultural lands in Vsevolzhskiy district close to Volodarskiy bridge and "Ladoga" farm in Kirovskiy district. According to the report of the IV quarter 2007, the major shareholders are Mukhazhir Etuyev 39.6%, Yekaterina Brazhnikova 9.6%, Vladimir Trokhimchuk 4.87% and Ivan Lavrenyuk 4.76%. RBC daily informed earlier that "Imperia" holding started to purchase the shares of "Pridonskiy" farm. M. Etuyev said, by the present moment "Imperia" has managed to consolidate just 2% of shares; the company makes no further steps.

M. Etuyev, General Director of "Prinevskoye" said that the cold storage is designed for 6,000 tons; the investments to this storage amounted to around $ 6 mln. "The products (cabbage, table beet, fresh herbs, etc.) from the storage will be supplied to the city and the region", he says.

This is not the first farm of Leningradskaya region to make the decision of the independent development of the packing and storage businesses. In particular, the own logistics centers are developed by "Ruchyi" farm and the breeding farm named after Telman (which belongs to "Aladushkin Group"). To the opinion of the market players, the small independent projects of the regional farms have perspectives on market; collectively they can compete even with the large suppliers. "In the present-day market conditions any similar project has perspectives", Vladimir Linetskiy, the President of "Sorus" group says. The retail chains require the supplies of the already packed products, so that the enterprise has benefits due to the own packing line installed. The small producers won't deter the retailers, because the diversification of the suppliers is advantageous for the chains."

The analysts think, in future we can expect for the boom of the investment projects in the sphere of vegetable production. The prices for some products have increased more than 35% since the previous year. According to Russian Statistics Committee, vegetable production (except potato) reduced 1.1% in Russia (this parameter is 3.6% in the Northern-Western region); the volumes of the imports increased 13%. Onion (38%) and tomato (27%) occupied the largest shares in the assortment of the imported vegetables. "The cost efficiency of the vegetable production has increased since recently due to the fact of the increasing prices and the constantly decreasing number of the private households", Dmitriy Rylko says, the General Director of the Institute of Agrarian Market Conjuncture. "They controlled around 60% of the vegetable market and 80% of the potato market not so long ago. So, the conditions for the formation of the large market players are created now - and, such players will be highly efficient".