Fonterra to exit Russian businesses

This follows the coop’s decision to suspend shipments of product to Russia at the end of February.

CEO Miles Hurrell said, “Our first step following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was to establish the safety of the team in Russia, and our priority through this process continues to be doing the right thing by our people. ​

“We then suspended shipment of product to Russia while we assessed the impact of economic sanctions and discussed our long-term plans with our customers and joint venture partner. ​

“Following careful consideration of the impact on our people and our long-term plans for the Russian market, we will now close our office in Moscow, re-deploying staff where possible, and withdraw from our joint venture Unifood.” ​

Fonterra exports a small amount of product to Russia, primarily butter, totaling about 1% of annual exports.

“Given the current strong demand for New Zealand dairy, we are confident in our ability to re-allocate this product to other markets,”​ Hurrell said.

New Zealand has been exporting butter to Russia for more than 40 years. Fonterra entered the joint venture Unifood in December 2018.