Randers, 12 December 2009
The name of the ship almost gives away the destination – the words Novaya Zemlya written in large letters adorn the bow. The ship is moored in the east harbour in Aalborg, and loading is in progress. On the quays, trucks are zig-zagging around, among containers and pallets with boxes of meat from Danish Crown. Just under 105,000 boxes must be loaded, or 2,431 tonnes of necks, shoulders, hams, fore-ends and various other cuts. The destination is St Petersburg in Russia. And the ship must get there by Christmas, explains Jens Rahbek, Danish Crown’s Export Manager.
- This is the last ship this year. And it will be loaded with food for the Russian Christmas which falls in the second week of the new year. It has almost become a bit of a tradition, us sending off a Christmas ship. And if the weather is fine, there shouldn’t be any problems this year either, says Jens Rahbek.
Danish Crown regularly ships products to Russia, by sea, lorry and container. However, in the past couple of years, exports have been hampered by the fact that three slaughterhouses have been unable to send their meat to this attractive market.
- We have just reopened the slaughterhouses in Blans, Herning and Sæby, which means that we will hopefully be able to boost our exports considerably. If all goes well, perhaps to the same levels as two years ago, says Jens Rahbek, who also explains that the export quotas for Russia for the coming year are currently being decided. It is therefore still slightly uncertain how much Danish Crown will be exporting.
Russia has always been an important high-price market for Danish Crown. This was celebrated recently to mark the 15th anniversary of the Moscow office.
- We have gradually increased our presence in Russia and today supply major customers within both retail and processing. We have a good reputation, and our customers are very happy with our products. However, we are also seeing intensifying competition from both European and overseas competitors, concludes Jens Rahbek.