PepsiCo wants to grow fruits, vegetables in Russia
MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) - PepsiCo, which last year struck a deal to buy Russian juice and dairy product maker OJSC Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods , plans to get into the production of fruits and vegetables in the country.
One of PepsiCo's goals is the development of agriculture in Russia, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said during a Russia Today television interview.
Russia will be a very attractive country for the company, because of Russia's land and water, Nooyi said. Russia could be a very good base for the production of fruit, and could be its own center for the production of certain fruits, especially stone fruits.
PepsiCo is now a major producer of potatoes in Russia, Nooyi said, having started from scratch. When the company arrived in Russia several years ago, it had to bring potatoes in from abroad, because it was not possible to make chips from Russian potatoes, she said.
This was an important and successful experiment for PepsiCo, one the company will repeat for the production of juices. It plans to produce fruits, vegetables, and grain in Russia, Nooyi said.
The company chief did not put a figure to possible investment or production volume plans, saying PepsiCo would be able to provide firmer figurers in about a year's time. When the company does something, it does it in a big way, Nooyi noted.
As reported, PepsiCo agreed to buy Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods last December. In the first stage of the deal, it is buying 66% of the stock from the company's main shareholders for $3.8 billion. Factoring in the shares PepsiCo buys on the open market, its stake in the Russian company will come to 77%. PepsiCo will subsequently make an offer to buy out the remaining minority shareholders.