Demand for fresh fruit and vegetables, in particular locally sourced and private-label products, is growing in Finland, according to one of the country's leading fresh produce buyers.
In an exclusive interview published in the August 2011 issue of Eurofruit, Kesko's director of fresh produce Tarja Jukkara said sales across the country were buoyant despite the recent economic downturn.
'The general feeling in the market is fairly positive and fruit and vegetable sales are increasing,' Jukkara told Eurofruit. 'The growth in the overall Finnish economy at the moment is boosting sales.'
Private label is also growing in market share, she revealed. 'We see this very strongly with our private label, Pirkka, which grew by 28.3 per cent during the first quarter of this year. The growth has been even stronger since then,' she said.
Kesko has this week posted a 6 per cent annual increase in second-quarter net profit to €54m.
The company's net sales also grew, by 8.5 per cent on last year's figure to €2.47bn.
Kesko said it expected net sales and operating profit to continue growing during the coming 12 months.
However, the group is also expected to invest a significant amount in the proposed expansion of its store network in Russia.
The full interview with Kesko's Tarja Jukkara appears in the August 2011 issue of Eurofruit.
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