Norwegian firm plans major expansion in Russian pork market

Norwegian company RBPI (Russia Baltic Pork Invest) Group has started implementing an aggressive expansion in the Russian pork market. Company representatives announced plans to invest RUB 7.4 bln (US$ 237 mln) in the construction of four pork farms until 2015, and according to experts almost double the investment amount ill go to the construction of another seven farms in the period of 2015-2018.
By this time the company plans to have a share of 6% of the Russian pork market so it will be the largest foreign company in the Russian pig industry. Currently the main asset of the Norwegian company in Russia is the large pig complex in the Nizhni Novgorod Region with the total number of 180 thousands heads of pig stock. At the moment management of the RBPI Group are finishing negotiations with the government of the Nizhni Novgorod Region, considering the construction of another pig farm also with the total stock of 180 thousands heads. The construction of the project will be finished in the middle of 2013, and according to the approximate estimations of the regional Ministry of Agriculture it will let the company double the volume of new profit to almost RUB 3 bln (US 110 mln). It should be noted that according to official projects the share of the foreign companies in the Russian pork market will rapidly increase in the coming years. "The Russian market currently is offering a higher level of prices for pork producers. The price for pork in half-carcasses on average in Russia is more than double than in countries such as Germany, Denmark, France, Spain, Netherlands, USA, Canada," commented the leading analyst of information and analytical agency IMIT Alexei Plugov.