Employment, Foodstuff, Good for Business, Investments, Lithuania, Markets and Companies

Taurage District Mayor Sigitas Miciulis told BNS that the company had asked the district's council to lease it a plot of land, saying that it planned to invest between 30 million to 40 million euros.

"They are now planning a huge investment of 30 million to 40 million euros. Every job matters for us. They will create about 50 jobs", he said. 

Gintaras Bertasius, Vilkyskiu Pienine's CEO and majority shareholder, confirmed to BNS that the company had applied for a 99-year lease of the land, but he declined to give any further comment. "If you are asking for what purpose, then for development, but I can't say today for what kind of development. Even if I have an idea, I can't share it," he told BNS.  

Vilkyskiu Pienine early this year completed construction on a 28-million-euro whey processing plant in Taurage and it also operates a cheese production facility in the town. The complex is operated by Modest, a subsidiary of the dairy group, which is based in Vilkyskiai, a small town in the nearby Pagegiai municipality.

Vilkyskiu Pienine's net profit soared by 45% last year compared with 2016 to 6.4 million euros as revenue jumped by 26% to 113.6 million euros.

The group mostly produces fermented cheese and other main dairy products, exporting 65% of its output to Latvia, Estonia, Scandinavia, Germany, Israel, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as some Middle Eastern countries and China.

The company says that it holds an 18% share of Lithuania's cheese market and a 12% share of the fresh dairy product market.