Ekosem-Agrar aims to produce and process nearly 200t of raw milk per day for the greater St Petersburg area. Credit: Nikolai Chernichenko on Unsplash.

Ekosem-Agrar has expanded to St Petersburg region of Russia with the acquisition of dairy farm OAO Trud.

Financial details of the acquisition have not been revealed by the companies.

OAO Trud farm includes an agricultural area of nearly 3,200ha and approximately 1,520 cattle, with 750 are dairy cows.

By acquiring OAO Trud, Ekosem-Agrar is now represented in the Leningrad region, which surrounds St Petersburg.

Ekosem-Agrar CEO Stefan Dürr said: “With Leningrad, we have opened up our ninth region in Russia. This region is particularly attractive for the sale of our dairy products due to its economic importance for Russia and its increased purchasing power.

“This brings us a good step closer to our strategic goal of becoming the first integrated producer of high-quality milk products with nationwide coverage.”

Ekosem-Agrar said that its medium-term goal is to produce and process nearly 200t of raw milk a day for the greater St Petersburg area.

The company added that is planning to acquire new farms and agricultural lands as well as build two new modern dairy cow facilities by the end of 2022.

Ekosem-Agrar will  supply the Leningrad region EkoNiva brand products from its existing dairies until it makes necessary investments in land and facilities.

Ekosem-Agrar CFO Wolfgang Bläsi said: “So far, we are satisfied with the response to our exchange and subscription offer. We have received a lot of positive feedback from both private and institutional investors.

“As one of the lead investors, we were able to win the German Mittelstandsanleihen FONDS, among others, which participated in the new issue with a subscription of €5m.”