10 February 2012

EBRD supports modernisation of Macedonian branded food producer

The EBRD is continuing to support the development of the private sector in the Western Balkans with a €2.5 million loan to one of the leading branded food producers in Macedonia – Vitaminka, the EBRD's Resident Office in Skopje said on Wednesday.
Vitaminka is one of the largest agribusiness companies in Macedonia, producing a wide array of branded food products under its own name as well as for other private labels - chocolate confectionary, crisp snacks, powdered products and additives, ketchup, mayonnaise and soft cookies. The company exports over 40 per cent of its products, primarily to Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.
The proceeds of the EBRD loan will be used to finance the purchase of production and packaging equipment as well as for the implementation of modern energy efficiency measures at Vitaminka.
The project will enable Vitaminka to minimise operating costs and strengthen its competitiveness, as well as increase the production capacity for some of its most popular products.
"We are pleased to continue our cooperation with Vitaminka and to support the company’s development strategy and further growth. The new loan will help Vitaminka to increase the production volume of powdered drinks and crisp snacks, in order to meet the growing demand for these products and to improve its energy efficiency" said Elena Urumovska, Head of EBRD Skopje Resident Office.
"The EBRD financing will support our company’s development strategy for the coming years. Vitaminka’s objectives include expanding and modernising production capacities and product assortment, as well as raising energy efficiency standards in our company, improving productivity and working conditions in some of our production plants," said Simon Naumoski, President of the Management Board of Vitaminka.
In 2007 the EBRD provided a €4 million loan to Vitaminka to finance its investment programme that included procurement of the new production line for soft cookies and packaging equipment.
To date the EBRD has invested close to €950 million in the Macedonian economy through projects in the corporate, financial, infrastructure and energy sectors. The EBRD funds have attracted additional investments worth €1 billion from other sources.In the agribusiness sector alone, the EBRD has directly committed more than €7 billion in over 450 projects across central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States since 1991.

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