RUSSIA: Nestlé will not withdraw production from Konditer plant

Swiss food behemoth Nestlé has responded to media speculation with a statement that it has no intention of ceasing its production operations at the Konditer confectioner in Samara, Russia. The Swiss firm purchased the major shareholding in 1996 in a move to increase the company's interest in the Russian market but aroused interest when it announced that the Konditer plant would not witness expansion.Nestlé entered into production in Russian in 1995 and turnover in 1999 amounted to 8bn roubles. Over US$150m has been invested in production and distribution in the country, and Nestlé has purchased the controlling shares of five companies: Rossiya, Nestlé Zhukovskoye Ice Cream, Altai, Kamskaya and Khladoprodukt.Nestlé officials in Moscow have revealed that while two caramel and cookie lines are to be relocated at the company's other production plant in Kamskaya, the Konditer confectioner will continue production as normal.