Andrey Chibis instructed to take measures to prevent the closure of Severomorsky Dairy plant

‘I am waiting for a clear list from you by the end of this week: what can we do to prevent this (closure) from happening,’ Chibis said at an operational meeting of the regional government on Monday.

Head of the region stressed that the status of a private enterprise should not matter for the work of the relevant ministry. He also noted that he received information about the crisis situation at Severomorsky Dairy plant not from Abarinov, but from the media and social networks.

As Abarinov explained during the meeting, "the company cannot now buy milk from other regions in the volume that is necessary to produce final products" due to the rise in milk prices, and milk produced in Murmansk region is distributed among three enterprises: Severomorsky Dairy plant, LLC Apatitsky Dairy plant and State Unitary Agricultural Enterprise Tuloma.

‘We are thinking about the issue of additional support. We keep the situation under control, we saw it in advance, but we cannot directly influence the economic activity of the institution,’ the minister said.

According to Barinov, in January Severomorsky Dairy plant should receive a federal subsidy in the amount of about 5 million rubles to compensate for the costs of mandatory labeling of dairy products.

In turn, the governor proposed to study the possibility of paying the subsidy ahead of schedule - in December. 

As reported, the largest producer of whole milk products in Murmansk region Severomorsky Dairy plant intends to cease operations from January 1, 2022. The plant confirms the information about the closure, but does not comment. The online store of Severomorsky Dairy plant closed on December 1.

According to the SPARK-Interfax analytical system, at the end of 2018, the plant received a net profit of 15 million 302 thousand rubles, but in 2019 and 2020 it received a loss of 9 million 641 thousand rubles and 8 million 267 thousand rubles, respectively.

It follows from the data of SPARK-Interfax, that 63.5% of the shares of Severomorsky Dairy plant belong to Deputy General Director of Severomorsky Dairy plant for Development, former General director of Severomorsky Dairy plant Igor Trubin. The share of 27.3% belongs to LLC Molochny Dvor (Murmansk), which in turn is owned in equal shares by Trubin and the chief accountant of Severomorsky Dairy plant Svetlana Khazova. Trubin and Khazova are members of the Board of Directors of Severomorsky Dairy plant.

According to the website of Severomorsky Dairy plant, the plant began operating in 1973 and was engaged in the production of milk and kefir. Currently, the plant produces more than 50 types of dairy products. 

Severomorsky Dairy plant is the largest producer of whole milk products in Murmansk region, the plant accounts for more than 50% of production in the region and 34% of purchases of raw milk produced in the region. By the end of 2020, Severomorsky Dairy plant produced 10 thousand 793 tons of products, which is 82.9% more than in 2019.