Ukrainian cat and dog food manufacturer Kormotech plans to invest EUR 12 million to expand production in Ukraine and Lithuania in 2023, Eduard Babenko, head of the Ukraine-East Asia strategic business area, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"Despite the war, we plan to invest in expanding production capacity, especially with a focus on production of wet food. In 2023, we will invest about EUR 12 million in Ukraine and Lithuania. The wet food market in the world is growing rapidly, so we must build new capacities in order to be able to serve contracts with system distributors in the future," he said.

According to Babenko, the company is building plans based on the scenario of Ukraine's victory.

"We should expect a greater influx of foreign investment, which will become a driver of market development. However, household incomes will not undergo rapid growth, and savings by that time will be at a much lower level than before the war. Therefore, one should not expect a rapid growth of the market, we predict growth by level of 5-7% [in tonnes]," the expert noted.

Taking into account the new realities, but with an eye on the long term, the company plans to expand warehouses in Europe and turn them into integrated logistics hubs.

"The main goal of 2023 is to reach a turnover of $150 million. The second is to increase the export/Ukraine ratio to 30/70, but not due to a rollover of volumes, but due to the simultaneous growth of markets. Everything we do is not for one day, and we have big plans. And we include in this understanding a partner, a client, together we plan for long intervals," he said.

Kormotech LLC is a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of food for cats and dogs. The company exports products to 33 countries, including the USA, UK, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Poland, Turkey and Chile.

With the participation of CFI, Agence française de développement médias, as part of the Hub Bucharest Project with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs