Rusagro Group is growing at an extraordinary rate. The vertically integrated agriculture industry holding business was established in 1995 with operations in sugar imports and quickly expanded to import and process raw cane sugar in Russia, before adding the divisions of agriculture, meat, and oil and fats.
In 2011, the group completed the process of forming a unified corporate structure and the holding company Ros Agro PLC was created. It then successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange and this decision enabled it to attract additional funds for the implementation of investment projects. In the following year, Rusagro started to finance the construction of a new slaughterhouse in the Tambov region to widen its product portfolio and give it more of a competitive edge.
As the Russian market has opened up and evolved over recent years, Rusagro has gone along for the ride, working hard to take advantage of government sanctions, the countrys growing food market, and the low level of competition.
CEO Maxim Basov joined the company in July 2009 as the general director of LLC Rusagro Group of Companies before being appointed to the board of directors in February 2011. During his time in the leadership seat, he has successfully steered the group forward and has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. In April 2015, the farming conglomerate reported a record net profit of 20.2 billion roubles, up from 3.2 billion roubles in 2013.
Russian agriculture will grow very quickly, I think, Maxim says. It will be based on the current import situation and the export potential for Russian companies to support neighbours in countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Iran, and Afghanistan. We are really growing very quickly and there’s a huge market out there for Russian agricultural goods.
Rusagros sugar segment is comprised of six facilities in the Tambov and Belgorod regions, all of which are located close to its sugar beet crops. This division is a leader in the manufacturing of granulated and refined sugar, and holds a market share of around 15 per cent. Sugar sales grew 32 per cent as of April this year thanks to an increase in volume and price. The oil and fats business is represented by a fats plant in Yekaterinburg and an oil extraction plant in the Samara region.
Rusagro ranks first place in the production of margarine, fifth place in mayonnaise, and eighth in sunflower processing.