Sunway Group, one of Russia's leading fresh produce importers, has filed for bankruptcy, according to the St Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Arbitration Tribunal.
Russian media outlets were quoted as saying that the St Petersburg-based group had failed to make the latest payment on loans secured three years ago.
Business daily newspaper Vedomosti reported that Sunway had failed to redeem credit-linked notes after defaulting on a coupon payment in late May.
The amount owed by the company was reported to be in the region of US$27m, from a total loan of around US$50m. With no plans apparently in place to restructure the group's debt, it is understood that the company is now seeking liquidation through the court.
The news, while not entirely unexpected, is none the less a stark indication of the downturn seen in the Russian fresh produce market over the past year.
Rumours surrounding Sunway's ability to service its loans had been circulating for some time and, although Sunway’s general manager, Igor Khayak, told Fruitnet.com as recently as January that the company was confident of honouring its obligations, doubts remained about the latest bond issue repayment.
Rival company JFC, Russia's largest fruit and vegetable importer, recently revealed that in the past 12 months it had been forced to focus more closely on its core banana business as demand for other products declined.
For many of Sunway's suppliers, the prospect of recovering money owed to them by the group would appear increasingly unlikely.
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