Consumer goods giant Unilever aims to invest €100 million (₤68 million) in the next two to four years developing plants in Russia, a company official said on Friday.The Anglo-Dutch company opened new facilities at its tea-packing factory in St. Petersburg, raising capacity to 20,000 tonnes of teabags per year from 16,000 tonnes now.

“Russia has … a volatile economy,” said Peter Ernsting, senior vice-president of Unilever’s European Supplies Department.

“We would spend this money in two years if the market requires it, or we would do it in three or four years if there is a slowdown in Russia’s economic growth,” he told Reuters at the opening of the new facilities.

Unilever has invested 500 million roubles (₤9.8 million) installing seven new packaging lines at the St Petersburg factory, which produces the Lipton, Brooke Bond and Beseda tea brands.

Unilever has been working in Russia since 1992. Besides the tea factory, it also controls perfume and cosmetics maker Severnoye Siyaniye in St.Petersburg, the Moscow Margarine Plant, and a plant in Tula, south of Moscow, producing mayonnaise and salad dressings.

“We now think that the next factory expansion will probably be in the area of mayonnaise, dressings, maybe soups,” Ernsting said.

He added Unilever was also considering building new plants in Russia, as its Moscow and Tula plants did not have enough space for expansion.

“We will have to build a greenfield factory,” he said.

“I would see us (in Russia) with our brands in Knorr, acting more in the area of soups … and personal care products.”

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