Deliveries of Bounty chocolate bars to Russian retail stores may be limited.

According to Kommersant newspaper, citing a letter from the Russian structure of the American Mars to the counterparties, the difficulties in selling the products have arisen due to the increased demand at the beginning of the pandemic and the lack of raw materials. In particular, the newspaper's sources report that the company is facing a shortage of coconut chips due to poor harvests in the countries where the coconut is grown. It is forecasted that such situation may last until 2022.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, nearly 49 million coconut trees were damaged in late 2020 due to a typhoon in the Philippines, the world's second coconut supplier, which will result in a reduced harvest in the next 2-3 years.

At the same time, Yelizaveta Aleksandrova, Mars Wrigley Russia's Director for Corporate Affairs, noted that Mars sets high demands on the quality of raw materials and that the company needed time to replenish stocks. According to her, the Russian division does not expect a shortage of Bounty-branded products on store shelves, "the situation will not affect the end consumer in any way."

Sales of the Bounty candy bars and sweets under the Bounty brand are expected to be almost 5 billion roubles in 2020.

Made in Russia // Made in Russia

Karina Kamalova