According to the Yale School of Management, over 1,000 companies have scaled back their operations in Russia, with many opting to exit the country in light of the Ukraine conflict.
As geopolitical tensions persist, Russia is imposing challenges for major brands looking to wind down or depart from the country. In April 2023, Putin issued an executive order enabling Russia to seize real estate, securities, property rights, and other assets from foreign companies with connections to “unfriendly countries.”
Danone, after initiating the transfer process in 2022, finally obtained approval in March to divest its business in Russia, resulting in a loss of 1.2 billion euros (approximately $1.3 billion).
Established in 2008, AgroTerra is engaged in supplying and producing commodities, seeds, and value-added products for food processors. Specializing in soybeans, wheat, sugar beet, and other cash crops, the company ranks among the top 20 largest owners of agricultural land in Russia, according to its LinkedIn page.
A spokesperson informed Agriculture Dive that the company has not yet received detailed information regarding the decree on the transfer of shares to the temporary management of Rosimushchestvo.
Despite this, AgroTerra stated it was operating normally, with its primary focus on the ongoing sowing campaign, as reported by Reuters. Dutch-registered firms AgroTerra Investments B.V. and AgroTerra Holdings B.V. were listed as partial owners of some assets in the decree.
NCH Capital, a U.S.-based firm with AgroTerra listed among its agribusinesses, had not responded to a request for comment from Agriculture Dive at the time of reporting.
