Do you want to invest in dictatorship? Danone decided to try luck

Some seem not to learn by bitter experience of Ford and Baltika companies’ work in Belarus.

Danone has become another company which has decided to play Belarusian roulette.

Unimilk company, which has received preferences in Belarus, a subsidiary of French-Russian Danone Unimilk company, has become a subject for debriefing at the session to discuss the prospects of Belarus’ dairy industry, and the so-called president lectured the company with the world-wide reputation how to do business.

Lukashenka expressed dissatisfaction at the work of Unimilk company at the Belarusian market, demanding from the investor to meet its obligations in Q1, Interfax-Zapad informs.

“I outlined fields of work for you. You thought: Let the president keep talking, we will do it our own way. You are mistaken! If you fail to fulfill my instructions in Q1, you will no longer work on the Belarusian market,” Alyaksandr Lukashenka stated.

The dictator reminded that earlier the company had been allowed to enter the Belarusian dairy market, Belarusian resources, “on the most favourable terms”. “However, I strongly warned against the export of products with a low added value,” Lukashenka said. Moreover, he added that the company pledged to set up modern milk-processing facilities and develop their raw materials base. “These promises have not been fulfilled yet,” the so-called president said.

He expressed concern over the fact that Unimilk deals only with processing and exporting of drinking milk, which is basically the export of primary products.

Lukashenka has also stressed that facts of corruption in this industry are intolerable: “I am very angry about that. You forgot that you work in Belarus, not in Russia. Corruption, share-outs, pressure, agreements beyond my instructions are unacceptable,” he said. “I know everything; I even know what you are thinking about, I know how you shared the dividends, how much money your representatives in Belarus received and so on, and even where you transferred the money. I know everything,” the usurper underlined. “I have told you that nobody will ask a penny from you, nobody will demand any bribes, but you should operate fairly.”