Agriculture, Analytics, Baltic Export, Foodstuff, Good for Business, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Statistics

Rigas Piena Kombinats (RPK) dairy company took second place with EUR 90.067 mln generated in annual turnover, and Latvijas Balzams distillery came third with EUR 73.791 mln.

The industry’s top ten companies by turnover also included Preilu Siers cheese maker with EUR 62.645 mln, Cido Grupa beverages producer with EUR 53.731 mln, Tukuma Piens dairy company with EUR 46.910 mln, Cesu Alus brewery with EUR 44.578 mln, HKScan Latvia meatpacker with EUR 35.798 mln, Rigas Piensaimnieks dairy company with EUR 30.365 mln and Forevers meatpacker with EUR 30.107 mln in last year’s turnover.

Latvian Business Annual Report 2016 shows that the profitability of food and beverages producers declined last year, from 2 percent in 2013 and 2014, to 1 percent in 2015. The industry’s aggregate profit also fell significantly, from EUR 29 mln in 2014 to EUR 14 mln in 2015.

According to the estimates provided in the report, the industry paid EUR 214.357 mln in taxes last year. Of that amount, EUR 126.872 mln were paid by beverages producers and EUR 87.485 mln by food companies.

Food Union was mentioned in the report as a success story as the dairy group has managed to expand into the Chinese market. Last year, Food Union shipped EUR 3 mln worth of milk to this Asian country, and next year milk deliveries to China might increase to EUR 10 mln. Food Union is also building a plant in China, which is plans to complete in 2017.

Meanwhile, the Latvian beer market has been contracting by 3% a year on average over the past four years.