Finland & Belarus: Finland’s Olvi halts brewing operations in Belarus

Olvi PLC, owner of one of Belarus’ leading beer makers Lidskoe Pivo, recently announced it was shutting down its business in Belarus and ceasing exports to Russia, Belsat reported on March 6.

According to the company’s management, 840 employees of the Lidskoe Pivo plant would still get their salary paid.

New investments in Lidskoe Pivo were halted on March 6. The business shutdown in Belarus will be completed in stages. Lidskoe Pivo accounts for one fifth of the revenue of the entire Olvi company, which also owns breweries in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Last year, Belarus accounted for about a quarter of Olvi Group’s business operations, 33 percent of sales, 21 percent of net sales, and 24 percent of operating profit. The company’s exports from Finland and the Baltic states to Russia amounted to about 13.5 million euros. The export of Lidskoe Pivo to Russia gave about a quarter of net revenues.

The Mebelain plant, located in the free economic zone in Mahiliou, has stopped working. What will happen to the 800 employees of the plant is unknown.

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