July 4/Business Monitor International Ltd. (BMI) -- The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever has completed the acquisition of Russian food condiments company Baltimor, a prominent producer of ketchup, mayonnaise and tomato paste products with an annual turnover of close to $100 million. BMI sees plenty of promise in the deal, highlighted by the fact that Baltimor's ketchup range accounts for over 50% of industry sales in the country. BMI expects the consumption of food condiments to rise sharply in line with our forecast that through to 2013, food consumption in Russia will increase by 62.8% and reach 10.8 trillion rubles ($466 billion).
The acquisition falls in line with Unilever's wider strategy to pursue growth in emerging markets. The global downturn has provided the impetus for it to make use of its financial muscle to pursue acquisitions and take advantage of deflated asset prices. In view of the sharp slowdown in Western Europe in particular, the fact that emerging markets account for almost 50% of the company's turnover has been a decisive factor in the relative strength of its performance in 2009. In Q109, Unilever reported organic turnover growth of 4.8% despite marked underperformance in Western Europe.