The cheese segment was significantly underinvested - Artem Belov
‘We are really very dependent on imports for this type of product,’ he said. ‘This market is very unconsolidated, with a large number of small and medium-sized players. Moreover, many people came to life after 2014, the cheese segment began to grow, and quite dynamically. A large number of new manufacturers have appeared.
If we talk about the future, according to Artem Belov, the potential of the cheese segment is quite high. In the next three years, it is planned to implement projects in this industry for 200 thousand tons of cheese, which is the third of what is produced in Russia today.
- This proves that not only we, but also investors estimate this segment as interesting, - added Artem Belov. – And there are three key factors for that. First, the low level of cheese consumption and the potential for its growth. Currently, the consumption of cheese is about 4 kg per capita, which is a very small amount. In Europe, it is about 14-15 kg. In addition, the last year showed that despite the fall in income, the growth in cheese consumption was very significant.
The second factor is import substitution. Russia now imports about 30% of cheeses, and investors see this trend as positive.
The third factor is the expected market consolidation. Now there are many small producers in Russia, and not all of them will stand up to competition. In addition, some investors expect to use various tools in marketing and finance to move some of the players-competitors of the second or third order, which are now on the market.
Earlier, Artem Belov said that the negative expectations of food producers associated with the pandemic were not met.
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