Dried fruit importer expands influence abroad

VILNIUS - Lithuanian nut and dried fruit importer Arimeksas says it has acquired holdings in a number of foreign dried fruit producers, the Lithuanian business newspaper Verslo Zinios reported on Sept. 3. As a result it will be able to lower prices and establish a leading position in the domestic market, the company said.

Arimeksas is looking to establish a strong foothold in all three Baltic states and to increase its influence in dried fruit producing enterprises.

Arnas Jurskis, director of Arimeksas, was quoted as saying "We now hold stakes of 10-20 percent in dried fruit producers in Turkey, Iran and the United States already. This guarantees uninterrupted supplies, allows us to buy at lower prices and to exercise stricter control over production quality."He said the company had boosted its share of the local nut and dried fruit market to more than 50 percent in the last five years.

Executives at Arimeksas said the company's sales in Lithuania in the last three years had risen by around 20 percent. By weight they had risen more than 50 percent. The company's monthly sales amount to around 500 tons of dried fruit and nuts, of which around 100 tons are sold in Belarus, Kaliningrad, Estonia and Latvia.

Jurskis added: "Increasing our influence in dried fruit producing companies will help us realize our expansion plans in Eastern Europe and the Baltics. We intend to invest around $1 million in the next couple of months and to raise our holdings in some Turkish, Iranian and U.S. enterprises to at least 50 percent."