Ukraine,
Fonterra,
business,
invasion
Fonterra to 'exit its business' in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine
Fonterra is closing its Moscow office, and has withdrawn from its joint venture with Unifood in Russia, established more than three years ago.
The dairy cooperative's decision followed the suspension of shipments to Russia at the end of last month.
In a statement, chief executive Miles Hurrell said the priority following Russia's invasion of Ukraine had been to establish the safety of staff in Russia.
"Following careful consideration of the impact on our people and our long-term plans for the Russian market, we will now close our office in Moscow, re-deploying staff where possible, and withdraw from our joint venture Unifood.
"Given the current strong demand for New Zealand dairy, we are confident in our ability to re-allocate this product to other markets."
New Zealand had been exporting butter to Russia for more than 40 years, with exports of mostly butter totalling about 1 percent.