One of the largest greenhouse operators in Russia - Sergey Rukin's Rost Group of Companies and partners - may noticeably strengthen its position in the Urals. The group wants to buy the Churilovo agro-complex that includes three greenhouses with a total capacity of 73.5 thousand tons of vegetables and greens. The deal worth more than 9 billion rubles will be the second big purchase of Rost recently after the acquisition of Doliny Ovoschey. But building up capacity too quickly is fraught with the risk of losing control, experts warn.
The general director of Growth Technologies, Tamara Reshetnikova, adds that till the end of 2020, in greenhouse Churilovo one cucumber variety was growing, the most accessible and easy to manufacture, but not the most profitable. The management of the complex was renewed, the assortment was expanded, but the changes may have been too late, she points out.
Tamara Reshetnikova does not exclude that Rost follows its policy of aggressive geographical expansion. But the modern greenhouse business is high-tech and complex, and too rapid expansion of capacity is fraught with loss of control, the expert warns. A Kommersant source in the industry believes that Rost may need to keep increasing revenues to maintain its business model.
Read the complete article at www.t-rost.com.