RIGA - Laima, Latvia's largest confectionery, launched the production of candy in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, last week at a new plant it built together with Hurshida Bonu, an Uzbek company.
Laima said it had invested $300,000 in the joint venture project – Laimauz, in which the Latvian confectionery owns a 51 percent stake – mainly on purchasing equipment and technology.
Initially output is planned at 500 tons, though this can easily be doubled once sales take off, according to Laima officials. By the end of the year Laimauz may start making jelly candies and double its staff from its current 15 employees to 30.
According to Juris Jonaitis, executive director of Laima and Staburadze, the cheap raw materials in Uzbekistan make production profitable. Sugar, for instance, can be imported from Ukraine three times cheaper than that made in EU countries. What's more, Uzbeks have many traditions connected with candy, such as giving sweets to newlywed couples.
Laima and Hurshida Bonu signed their cooperation agreement in April during Uzbek President Islam Karimov's visit to Riga.
Laima reported this week that it posted profits of 560,000 lats (835,000 euros) last year, up tenfold on the previous year, while turnover was up 8 percent to 19.2 million lats. The company had boosted sale in 2002 by 29 percent to 17.8 million lats and posted profits of 55,300 lats, up from losses of almost half a million lats the previous year.
