Budapest / Madrid, November, 6th. Riceland-Magyarország and Ebro Puleva, one of the leading groups in the food sector in Europe, have entered a strategic partnership agreement, which aims mainly to strengthen, develop and increase the leadership of Riceland-Magyarország on the Hungarian rice market.
Riceland-Magyarország is leader on the rice brand sector in Hungary. It currently has a market share of 32% in value and 26.5% in volume. In some segments with a higher value added, its leadership extends to 46% of the Hungarian market.
The company specialises in the brand market: Riceland-Magyarország has a good reputation in Hungary and is considered a premium brand by consumers. It currently sells around 12,000 tonnes of rice a year.
Ebro Puleva is the leading rice producer in Europe and leading group in the Spanish food sector. Through this operation, Ebro Puleva aims to expand the Riceland-Magyarország range with value-added products produced and marketed by the Group in Europe, especially microwave rices and top-range precooked rice dishes, basmati rice, “boil-in-the-bag”, etc.
Ebro Puleva is leader in the sugar, rice and dairy sectors in Spain. It has a wide selection of leading brand names, such as Puleva, Ram, Leyma and El Castillo in the dairy sector; Azucarera and Sucran in the sugar sector; and Brillante, Nomen, La Cigala, Oryza, Bosto, Reis Fit and Riceland in the rice sector. The Group recorded a net profit of 87 million euro up to September 2003, representing a 15.2% growth year on year, and a turnover of 1,507 million euro. It is quoted on the Madrid Stock Exchange.
