Igor Eliseenko: The temporary closure of the Wimm-Bill-Dann plant in Altai region confirms that monopolism and consolidation are not always good
Earlier, we wrote that since May 1, the work of Rubtsovsky dairy plant Wimm-Bill-Dann has been temporarily suspended in Altai region for technical reasons.
‘Of course, when 700 tons of milk were poured on the market – this is a large amount, taking into account the fact that it was the largest plant in Siberia. Naturally, this milk began to be offered to customers at a cheaper price. As I understand it, PepsiCo, the shareholders, took all the losses,’ said Igor Eliseenko.
The expert said that there was an oversupply of milk in the region: that is, the supply exceeds the demand, so prices began to decline. At the same time, he believes that if production is restored, the reverse process will begin.
‘May-June is the peak of milk increase. However, when the plant is launched, on the contrary, there will not be enough milk. I expect that after this, on the contrary, there will be a surge in the purchase price, and it will most likely exceed the values that were before the plant was shut down,’ the expert said.
Igor Eliseenko said that the launch of the plant is planned for June. According to him, it is expected to restore production, as this company occupies a large share in the market.
The expert calls such a situation ‘abnormal’, noting that ‘this should not be like this’. In his opinion, ‘it confirms that monopolism and consolidation are not always good.’
Member of the Board of the National Union of Milk Producers Soyuzmoloko. Siberia, the general director of the MolSib holding said that the accumulated milk is also being sold to other regions.
‘Now the cheese factories of Altai that were not loaded – are all loaded. There are cheese producers who make a really high-quality product, and there are also those who minimize their costs by replacing milk fat by producing an alternative product. There were a lot of them, and now, when cheap milk was poured into the market, they thought that the economy would be comparable, and now they will even make a lot of high-quality cheese. As a result, the consumer may also benefit from this,’ concluded Igor Eliseenko.
The history of the RDP begins since the year of its commissioning in 1964. In 1970-1975, its reconstruction was carried out - new workshops were put into operation: butter-making, cheese-making, for the production of milk sugar. In the late 1990s, production capacity of the company was expanded. In 1997, the plant was reorganized and CJSC Rubtsovsky Dairy Plant was founded.
Since 2001, the owner of Rubtsovsky dairy plant is the company JSC Wimm-Bill-Dann. The investments spent on the reconstruction of RDP amount to more than $ 20 million.
According to Dairy Intelligence Agency (DIA), in 2018, the volume of milk processing at Rubtsovsky dairy plant amounted to 333 thousand 425 tons. Cheese production in 2019 - 23.5 tons per day.
By the results of 2019, the company ranks 1st in the TOP 100 milk processors.
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