August 15, 2011

Tere to join Soyuzmoloko

Tere, the Estonian dairy group, is going to join Soyuzmoloko, the Russian dairy association.

Export has been a clear priority of Tere and the Russian market has been the focus of this priority in the last few years, Tere CEO Oliver Kruuda said.

"By joining Soyuzmoloko, we aim to get closer to Russian customers, get better to know this large market and exchange the experience Estonia and Russian partners have gained in the last decades," he said.

Representatives of Soyuzmoloko will be visiting Estonia at Tere's invitation from August 14-15. Led by the chairman of the board, Andrei Danilenko, they are scheduled to meet with Agriculture Minister Helir-Valdor Seeder and Tere executives and visit Estonian dairy farmers.

Danilenko said it is necessary to look for new opportunities to develop mutually beneficial cooperation which concerns investment in both marketing and production. "In connection with the establishment of the customs union and Russia's plan to enter the World Trade Organisation, the market rules will inevitably change, therefore a constructive dialogue with a traditional dairy supplier of both the Estonian and the Russian market is important to us," he said.

Founded in 2008, Soyuzmoloko unites Russian dairy farmers and producers with the aim of protecting the interests of the dairy industry. It has more than 3,000 members in Russia and Belarus. Tere would be its first Baltic member.

The turnover of the Tere group was nearly EUR100 million (US$143 million) in 2010. The principal markets of the company are Estonia, Russia, Finland, Latvia and Denmark.