First Large French Fries Production Plant Opened in Russia

Local production in the Lipetsk Special Economic Zone is expected to cover almost 100% of Russian demand for French fries.
Ivan Lebedev, State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and Oleg Korolyov, Governor of the Lipetsk Region, inaugurated a new potato processing plant earlier today. This first Russian large-scale French fries production facility was built through a joint venture of the Russian Belaya Dacha Group and Lamb Weston/Meijer, a global leader in potato processing. The construction of the plant was subsidized by the Russian State Program for Agriculture Development. With the local production of French fries in the Lipetsk Region, the joint venture will give its key customers steadfast support on the rapidly growing Russian market. According to Ivan Lebedev, the production facility is another step towards meeting the Russian food demand through local production.
“Over the last few years, imports were reduced twice due to efforts of Russian agricultural producers and the government support. An increasing number of both processing companies and consumers prefer local agricultural products. Our main goal is to provide our domestic market with high quality food at a reasonable price. That is why we need such projects as this new potato processing plant undertaken by the Belaya Dacha Group together with its partner Lamb Weston / Meijer,” said Ivan Lebedev.
The project investments totaled RUB 8.7 billion (about EUR 115 million), with 218 new jobs created. The plant is expected to reach its full capacity by late 2019 (about 200,000 tons of potato per year). The production technologies meet the strictest industry-related standards.
“Investments play a significant role in developing communities as they bring cutting-edge technologies, new jobs and fascinating career opportunities for young graduates. By establishing strong business contacts, we ensure tomorrow’s success for the region and improve welfare and life quality of the local residents”, says Lipetsk Region Governor Oleg Korolyov.
The new potato processing plant was established as a joint venture of the Russian Belaya Dacha Group and the Dutch Lamb Weston / Meijer. Belaya Dacha Group is the leading producer of ready-to-eat salads and vegetable products in Russia, celebrating its 100 years anniversary this year. Lamb Weston / Meijer is the global leader in the processed potato production, operating in more than 100 countries.
“This potato processing plant is one of the key priority projects for Belaya Dacha Group. I am pleased to know that we and our partner have combined our knowledge and the best practices in French fries production to set up a new potato processing plant in Russia,” said Victor Semenov, Supervisory Board Chairman of Belaya Dacha Group
Bas Alblas, CEO of Lamb Weston / Meijer: “We are proud to open the first large scale French fries plant in Russia today. Together with our partner Belaya Dacha, we have built this beautiful plant in Lipetsk that provides us with a unique opportunity to expand our position in the Russian market, while supporting our international key accounts in optimizing their own value chain, growing their businesses in the region and meeting local needs.”
McDonald’s was the first company to sign a long-term contract for French fries supplies, with other fast food companies to follow. Frozen French fries will be also sold in retail outlets across the entire country.
“Over the years of operation in Russia, McDonald’s has been providing strong support to development of the vertically integrated supply system in order to encourage local production of the main products. This new French fries production facility will raise the share of the chain’s locally sourced products to 98%. Currently McDonald’s gets supplies from over 160 local agricultural producers. We are proud that Belaya Dacha has been going hand in hand with McDonald’s from the very first years of our operation on the Russian market, while Lamb Weston has been our loyal partner for over 15 years by now,” said Khamzat Khasbulatov, the Head of McDonald's Russia
To cover the plant’s need for high-quality potatoes, Belaya Dacha has established a farm school and innovative farm production with a potato warehouse in the Tambov Region. The farm covers 30% of the total plant’s demand in potatoes while the rest is supplied by local farmers under long-term supply contracts. Over the past five years, Belaya Dacha taught the local farmers from 16 regions the best potato growing practices to raise their yield up to 500 dt/ha.