Owners Of "Lidskaye" Beer Leave Belarus

• 6.03.2022, 10:20

Finnish investors are officially winding up their business from now on.

Finnish investors of the Lidskaye beer plant have decided to leave the market of Belarus after the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the support of these actions by the Lukashenka regime.

Finnish concern Olvi, which owns Lidskaye Beer, announced its decision to leave Belarus. The company will also stop exporting its products to Russia, its website says.

"The situation in Ukraine is extremely serious and our thoughts are on the side of the Ukrainians affected by the war. We strongly condemn the attack on Ukraine. We aim to work in line with Olvi's values, and this is the only sensible solution to ensure long-term and responsible performance," said Pentti Hakkarainen, Chairman of the Board of Olvi.

For the time being, the concern will continue to pay the salaries for the 840 employees at the Lida plant, but as of today, it is officially winding down its business.

The "Lidskaye" beer accounts for a fifth of the income of the entire Olvi company, which also owns breweries in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. At one time, the Finns only came to the Belarusian market after the government agreed to their terms to transfer the controlling stake in the brewery to Olvi.

This week, Lidskaye Beer lost its market in Poland, where it had been actively exporting Lidski Kvas. Shops are selling the last of the products and have stopped buying new ones.