Ferroro to Built chocolate plant in Russia

The 200 million euro factory will produce 25,000 tons of its Raffaello and Kinder Chocolate brands annually.The Russia's chocolate market is valued
at 250 billion rubles ($10.2 billion) with a 16 percent annual growth
rate.

Ferrero, the Italian-based producer of
premium confectionery planned to build a chocolate factory in the
Vladimir region to capitalize on spiraling local demand for its
brands. The company would continue to import other brands, such as
Ferrero Roche and Nutella, from factories in Italy, Germany and
Belgium. The company has had a presence in Russia since 1995 but has
been importing its popular brands through Ferrero Russia, a 100
percent-owned subsidiary. Ferrero selected Vladimir, 180 kilometers
south of Moscow, for its strategic and logistic advantages.

Ferrero's move follows hard on the
heels of similar steps by multinational food manufacturers to build
factories to capitalize on the fast-growing market.

In September, Barry Callebaut, the
world's leading maker of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products,
opened a state-of-the-art factory in Chekhov, 60 kilometers south of
Moscow. Switzerland-based Nestle, the world's largest food company,
acquired Ruzskaya Confectionery Factory, a Moscow-based confectioner,
in November.