Poll by the "Potato System" magazine
At the end of April, Belaya Dacha Group of Companies announced the suspension of the French fries factory in the Lipetsk Region for 5 months. Reason: a sharp drop in demand for products due to the closure of cafes and restaurants in the country.
Obviously, the pandemic to one degree or another influenced other Russian enterprises specializing in potato processing.
Gennady Ryazanov, General Director of Agrofirm KRiMM LLC, Tyumen Region
In September 2019, the KRiMM agricultural firm opened a potato processing plant. Products: Pasteurized Half-Cooked Potatoes with Natural Additives and Fresh Peeled Fresh Cut Potatoes.
- Our plant has been operating not so long ago, in addition, it produces unusual, to some extent innovative products for the Russian market. Production volumes are not very high, although they are gradually increasing. At the beginning of 2020, the enterprise gained good momentum, many new orders came from federal networks (for pasteurized potatoes, since it has a much longer implementation period - up to 90 days). But then the pandemic began, and the number of requests decreased. I can’t say that the plant suffered significant damage. In May, orders resumed with renewed vigor, gradually we are entering the usual rhythm. I think a couple more weeks, and the company will return to standard volumes.
Alexander Kostikov, Director of Communications PepsiCo Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Caucasus and Central Asia
Frito Lay Manufacturing (a division of PepsiCo) is Russia's largest industrial potato processor: annually the company purchases more than 350 thousand tons of raw materials.
Products: Chips
- Potato chips are a very popular product among consumers and the largest segment in savory snacks. Now people spend more time at home, so the consumption of snacks has shifted towards home. At the same time, the dynamics of growth in snack consumption remained at the same level as before, before the regime of self-isolation.
Forecasting future sales is premature. They are influenced by many factors. But we know for sure what PepsiCo will continue to do: we will carefully analyze customer behavior, continue to invest in product innovations in order to continue to delight our consumers.
Of course, we will continue to develop and expand our agricultural program. Let me remind you that we purchase all the raw materials that we use to manufacture our products from 50 Russian suppliers. Another 10 farms produce chip potato seed varieties for the company.
Agriculture is the foundation of the food system and the foundation of PepsiCo's business. Supporting suppliers of agricultural raw materials is one of the key areas of our work.
Last year, we announced the construction of a new PepsiCo snack factory in Novosibirsk. Perhaps external factors will make adjustments to the timing of the project, however, work on it will continue, as this project is extremely important for the company.
Ivan Dudanov, Director of Pogarskaya Potato Factory JSC, Bryansk Region
Products: Potato Flakes
- The pandemic (and to a greater extent, the information about the virus that is shown on television) affected the mood of the people in the team. They are worried, nervous, all this does not contribute to the working mood. And the rest, we work as we worked, without changes.
Sergey Kantseli, Head of the Commercial Department, Bryansk Branch, Good Flake LLC, Bryansk Region
The company operates on the production base of the former EcoFrio factory
Products: Potato Flakes
- Our company opened in February 2020, in fact, the launch took place a month before the Russian regions began to be quarantined one by one. At first, the plant worked “at the warehouse”, now we have started selling and we see that the market is not in the best condition.
The volume of sales of the products of those enterprises to which we supply potato flakes for further processing fell significantly. This is especially true for those who are engaged in the production of instant products (mashed potatoes in glasses, etc.). The demand for these goods decreased by 70-80%. First of all, the trend has affected the regions of the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, where previously there was a large dislocation of workers from China and Central Asia. As a result, manufacturers are forced to cut production volumes and very strongly: relatively speaking, until April, 400 tons of products per month came off the conveyors of the plant, and now - 100 tons. Accordingly, the demand for raw materials has greatly decreased: earlier the company purchased 80 tons of flakes per month, now it is 20 tons. A return to the previous turnover can be expected only after the lifting of all sanctions, the opening of borders and the resumption of trade between the countries.
Before the pandemic, potato flakes from Russia were in high demand abroad. Good Flake also intended to develop an export business. We produce high-quality, competitive products at a price very low for the world market: the cost of packing cereals now (after the ruble has depreciated) is less than one euro, taking into account delivery - 1,20 euro, which is very beneficial compared to offers from foreign manufacturers. But after analyzing the FCS data on current deliveries, we realized that these plans would have to be postponed until better times. There is no interest from buyers; many countries are experiencing a crisis of demand.
In Europe, for example, potato flakes were purchased for the production of deep processing products (say, potato sticks); used in the HoReCa sector. Now the purchasing power of the population has decreased, many products have lost relevance. All this is acutely felt by manufacturers.
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