Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. is looking into taking advantage of the Russian boycott of food imports from Europe and the US. Sources inform "Globes" that Tnuva is considering entering the Russian market by selling hard cheese there.
The sources added that a Russian veterinary delegation visited Israel last week in order to approve dairies in Israel, a necessary condition for exporting food to Russia. Senior Tnuva executives have also visited Russia recently.
An initial check by Tnuva found that exporting cheese to Russia was worthwhile, and Tnuva is now considering marketing products directly to marketing chains or through a local distributor.
Tnuva believes that there is enormous potential in the Russian market, and the company can export to that country on a large scale, subject to Israel's domestic production limitations.
Tnuva manufactures hard cheese, principally yellow cheese, at the Tel Yosef dairy. Tnuva has invested NIS 240 million in expanding the dairy, and is expected to inaugurate the new production lines within a few months.
Last August, Russia declared its intention of boycotting imports of food from the EU and the US. The decision followed Western criticism of Russia's involvement in the internal crisis in Ukraine. In its announcement, Russia said it would ban imports of dairy products, fruits and vegetables, meat, and processed food from those countries.
Senior food market sources said that an opportunity has been opened for Israeli companies in the Russian market, where the potential is especially large.
Despite its size, most of Tnuva's current activity is in the domestic market. Tnuva has marketed its products in the kosher Jewish market in the US for many years, and is currently conducting a pilot project for the production of cottage cheese in the US for the purpose of expanding its business in North America to the general market.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 2, 2014
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