Market News

JFC directors and CEO Mr Kekhman are summoned for contempt

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On Friday 9 March 2012, the Admiralty and Commercial Court in London held a review hearing in respect of reefer ship operators STAR Reefers’ worldwide freezing order against the major Russian fruit importer JFC.

The Judge, Mr Edelman QC,  held that there were good grounds for continuing the worldwide freezing order against JFC, freezing JFC’s assets wherever they may be in the world. The Order also requires JFC to give prior notification of all business transactions in excess of USD$25,000 and to provide an updated schedule of its worldwide assets by 16 March 2012. JFC were ordered to pay STAR’s legal costs totalling GBP£175,000.

Crucially, the Judge found that there was a good arguable case that there had been serious breaches of the worldwide freezing order by JFC and good arguable case that the seven named directors/officers had willfully disobeyed the Court’s previous Order. He therefore granted permission to serve the contempt of court proceedings on the named directors/officers.

Source: www.freshplaza.com

X5 slides after director quits

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The X5 Retail Group has fallen to its lowest point in more than two weeks after the director of its discount format division of 15 years quit.

Shares slid 5.2 percent to $25.05 at 12 p.m. in London trading, the weakest intraday level since Feb. 16. Oleg Vysotsky will continue to manage the division until a replacement is found and will then serve as a transition adviser, X5 said in a statement today.

“Mr. Vysotsky was one of X5’s star managers, who has helped to make discounters the company’s best-performing business,” said Luis Saenz, chief executive officer of the U.S. unit of Moscow-based brokerage Otkritie Financial Corp. in an e- mailed note today. “His departure is likely to weaken X5’s core segment.”

Source: www.freshplaza.com

Russia first non-EEA market for EU producers

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Fruit and vegetables exports from the EU to Russia, from January to November 2011, were around 2.35 million tons, representing an increase of 16% regarding the same period of 2010, consolidating Russia as the first non-EEA market for fruit and vegetable producers in the EU, according to FEPEX. In the analyzed period, Russia represented 39% of the total exported by EU to countries outside the Union.

Of the 2.35 million tons of fruit and vegetables exported by communitarian producers to Russia, between January and November 2011, that are the latest updated info from Eurostat – a total of 1.15 million tons correspond to vegetables and 1.20 million tons corresponds to fruit. The main exported vegetable is potato, with 596,671 tons, followed by onion with 124,658 tons. The main exported fruit is the apple with 465,550 tons, followed by pears, with 224,019 tons.

Inside EU, the Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Belgium and Spain are the main exporters of fruit and vegetables to Russia.

Source: www.freshplaza.com

Joint Fruit Company ‘will return to market’

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Bankrupt Russian banana importer Joint Fruit Company (JFC) will “be back on the market” after taking time out to “recover” from its current financial difficulties, a source close to the group has claimed.

Speaking to Eurofruit Magazine, Dmitry Gerasimov, lead import manager from J Fresh, an importer established by JFC in 2011, claimed that the company would not stop supplying bananas to the Russian market, despite filing for bankruptcy. The company  trying to get some time to talk to their creditors and the bank.

He said: “I think JFC should be back, but I think they need to take a deep breath before they can return,” he added. “They just need some time to recover before they will be back on the market.” 

Source: www.fruitnet.com

Russia’s largest fruit importer declared bankrupt

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The Joint Fruit Company, JFC, – Russia’s largest importer of fruits, has filed for bankruptcy. The situation has come about as a result of the Arab Spring.

An official from the company said that the company had made losses as the events in the Middle East and North Africa had disrupted business relationships, caused loan defaults and lead to the bankruptcy of some of the organisation’s foreign partners.

A source close to the JFC co-owner told the Vedomosti business daily that JFC Head Vladimir Kekhman filed the company’s bankruptcy in case the firm would not be able to restructure its loans.

Established in St. Petersburg in 1994, the JFC Group is the international network that manufactures ships and distributes fruits. It owns about 3,000 hectares of banana plantations in Ecuador and Costa-Rica.

Source: www.freshplaza.com

Wal-Mart sees promise in Russia, X5 denies deal

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U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart, which has flirted with entering Russia for years, still sees promise in the vast country, and will continue to look for the right opportunity, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Its comment followed a report in St Petersburg-based Russian magazine “Delovoi Peterburg” that it is in talks to buy the Karusel hypermarket chain from X5, Russia’s top food retailer by sales. The report said that a deal may be announced in around two weeks.

Analysts estimated such a deal could be worth $2 billion. An X5 spokeswoman said: “We deny these reports categorically.”

Wal-Mart has looked at Russia for years but appeared to have given up in December 2010 when it closed its Moscow office due to a lack of acquisition opportunities.

It reawakened speculation it was still interested in Russia when it hired Lev Khasis, the former head of X5, as a senior vice president in September 2011.

A research report by analysts at Uralsib said X5 could ask around $2 billion for the hypermarkets which “would provide quick entry to Russia for Walmart.”

Source: www.reuters.com

Up to 70% of harvest lost as billions of rubles damage caused by cold

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Russian agricultural officials are expecting adverse effects on this year’s harvest after weather colder than usual.

For example, in Saratov Kray, which has experienced temperatures as low as -35°C, only half the grapevines are protected by earthen barriers.

In Krasnodar Kray, located on the Black and Azov seas, temperatures have dropped in some places to -31°C and have been accompanied by strong winds. 10-30% harvest reduction is expected as a result.

In Astrakhan, north of the Caspian Sea, officials say as much as 70% of fruit from orchards may be lost this year.

Russian agricultural officials concede there will be substantial damage to this year’s fruit crop. They said damage to fruits such as strawberries that grow low to the ground will be minimal and that orchards in northern areas of Russia would not be affected, since they grow in areas where temperatures of -30°C or -35°C are common.

Source: www.freshplaza.com

7-Eleven to enter Russian retail market

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One of the world’s largest franchise chains 7-eleven is entering the Russian market. As per experts’ opinion, the company is likely to find a partner among local retail operators or sell their master-license. Among the candidates for development on the Russian market – X5 Retail group and Metro.

7-Eleven Inc. belongs to Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd which is part of Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd. The first shops were opened in 1927 in the USA, and in 1950-s there were already 100 shops. Today the company is operating 40,000 shops, the majority is concentrated in Japan.

Source: www.retail.ru

Finnish Kesko to open K-Citymarket in St. Petersburg

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Last year the Finnish Group Kesko announced the intention to open 4 hypermarkets in St. Petersburg and the Moscow Region in the next 2 years. The land plot for the construction has already been chosen. Kesko Food is planning to reach 500 mln Euro net sales by 2015. Kesko Group is operating about 2,000 clothes, food and construction materials stores in Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Russia and Belarus.

Source: www.retail.ru