The Controversial Business Practices of Ehrmann: A Closer Look at their Operations in Russia

The large Ehrmann dairy is more active than ever in Russia after the war of aggression – and disappears when it comes to Putin’s war. According to a study, revenue growth is the third largest international company.

Christian Ehrmann cannot like the way his company is perceived at the moment. The large dairy from Oberschönegg in the Allgäu, of which he is CEO, is considered to be particularly pro-Russian, and that became clearer than ever at the beginning of the week: Ehrmann has been active in Putin’s empire for a long time, but first of all, business was intensified after the outbreak of war. And secondly, an investigation by the private university “School of Economics” in Kiev and the non-governmental organization “B4ukraine” has brought Ehrmann’s Russia course back into consciousness – the company is carrying on there as if there were no war.

This makes it one of many, both nationally and internationally. And yet the secrecy of the southern German milk processors is particularly stubborn. As a family business, Ehrmann is not subject to the reporting requirements that listed corporations have to fulfil. The transactions are legal and not sanctioned anyway. But companies like the agricultural machinery manufacturer Claas, also family-owned, were more willing to provide information and explained why they stayed in Russia. Ehrmann, who emphasizes its social and societal responsibility, could also explain why it uses its profit taxes to help finance the Russian state, including its military. Or what speaks against a termination of the connections.