Foodstuff, Good for Business, Latvia, Markets and Companies

Jari Latvanen, CEO of HKScan Latvia, said during the opening ceremony that the output at the Jelgava plant had tripled since 2010 when HKScan Latvia bought the Jelgava-based production facility that used to be called Jelgavas Galas Kombinats.

It is planned that other plants of the HKScan group will also be making pelmeni but the new production line at the Jelagava plant will be turning out ten types of pelmeni with different fillings (meat, cheese, Bolognese sauce, and others). EUR 300,000 were invested in the new production line.

HKScan has become one of the leading meatpackers in the Baltic states due to a number of factors, including the plant in Jelgava, Latvanen said. Currently pelmeni are sold in the Baltic states but there are plans for exports to Finland, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Pelmeni are also gaining popularity in other parts of the world, including in Italy and Asia, he said.

The production plant in Jelgava makes meat products of Jelgava, Rigas Miesnieks and Rakvere brands, and its annual output is 10,000.

As reported, HKScan Latvia in 2016 posted EUR 33.679 million in sales, down 5.9 percent from a year ago, while the company's profit dropped 3.3 times to EUR 654,518. The financial results for 2017 have not yet been published.

Founded in 1922, HKScan Latvia has been a part of Finland's HKScan group since 1998. HKScan is one of the leading food companies in Northern Europe. It has meat processing companies in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the Baltic states.