Russia's Rusagro plans to boost exports despite founder's arrest

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's leading agricultural firm, Rusagro, whose billionaire founder was arrested last week, announced on Thursday that it plans to maintain the export of products from its flagship oil and fats division at last year's level.

Prosecutors charged Rusagro's founder, Vadim Moshkovich, with embezzlement in a case related to the company's acquisition of a major oil and fat producer as part of its efforts to expand in that business.

Oil and fat product sales currently account for about 57% of Rusagro's revenue. The firm is Russia's largest producer of sunflower oil, margarine and mayonnaise, and the second-largest producer of industrial fats.

"We have optimism despite all the difficulties and sanctions restrictions felt today in the markets, not only concerning our company but also most Russian companies," said Alexei Shkarupa, executive of the company's oil and fat division.

Rusagro plans to maintain export volumes at the level of 2024, he said at a sector conference. Last year, Rusagro exported 355,000 tons of oil and fat products, with export proceeds accounting for 39% of total revenue.

Russia represents about 7% of the global oil and fat trade, with the sector contributing about one-fifth of Russia's total agricultural exports, according to Agriculture Ministry data.

Shkarupa said that Iran, Turkey, and China were the main buyers of Rusagro's sunflower oil, while other oil and fat products were exported to 23 countries, mostly in Southeast Asia and former USSR nations.

Rusagro, Russia's only major agricultural company listed on the stock market, saw the oil and fats business as a growth area in the 2010s, embarking on an acquisition spree.

In 2018, Rusagro acquired 80% of the debt owed by the company Solnechnye Produkty, or Solpro, to the country's main agricultural bank, Rosselkhozbank, worth 34.7 billion roubles ($412.62 million).

The purchase eventually gave Rusagro control of Solpro's assets but sparked legal action from the company's founder, leading to the arrest of Moshkovich, Russia's 55th richest businessman, who Forbes reports has a fortune of $2.7 billion.

Rusagro said on the day of Moshkovich's detention that all company activities were continuing as normal, and obligations were being met. The company's shares have lost over one-third of their value since the day of the arrest.

($1 = 84.0967 roubles)

(Reporting by Olga Popova, writing by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Bernadette Baum)