SAS Stops Sale of Mondelez Products over Alleged Contribution to Russia’s Treasury

SAS is stopping the sale of all products from the food giant Mondelez, as it is claimed that the company contributes to Russia’s treasury.

At the end of May Ukraine’s anti-corruption authority set up a blacklist of companies they believe contribute income to the Russian treasury.

They also accused the companies of contributing to Russia’s war coffers.

Among them was the food giant Mondelez, which also owns Freia, Toblerone and Daim.

As a result, SAS has, as of Thursday, chosen to stop the sale of products from Mondelez on board its flights, then including Freia.

SAS press manager Tonje Sund confirms this to VG.

– We have taken away products from Mondelez, which are on Ukraine’s International War Sponsors list, says Sund.

– This is about us taking away products from Mondelez, and about them as owners. We will be bringing in replacement products, so there will be chocolate and snacks on board.

Will the products be removed until Ukraine removes the companies from the blacklist?

– We are loyal to that list, Sund replies.

Mondelez emphasized in May that products sold in the Nordics are not produced in Russia.

– We do not sell any products in the Nordics that are manufactured in Russia, says a press release from the company’s Swedish department.

Mondelez states in its latest annual report that operations in Russia account for 4 percent of the company’s total turnover.

As the company’s turnover last year was close to NOK 350 billion, this corresponds to around NOK 14 billion.

– Mondelez has three factories there and through its production in Russia contributes to paying taxes to the Russian treasury, said Jakob Hedenskog in May. He is an analyst at the Center for East European Studies at the Institute of Foreign Policy in Sweden.

– As Russia is a war economy, some of the money goes one way or another to finance the country’s warfare in Ukraine, he says.

Mondelez has around 3,000 employees in Russia and, according to the Kyiv School of Economics, is the market leader in the sale of biscuits and chocolate in Russia.