Lely, one of the leading dairy technology companies in the world, is now among this ‘banned business’ list, as they recently announced they will immediately cease commercial activities throughout Russia and Belarus.
“Lely is shocked by Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine,” the company said in a press release. “The Ukrainian people are in the midst of a war and face great uncertainty. Our thoughts are with the people directly affected by this crisis. Lely condemns Russia’s invasion and is immediately ceasing commercial activities in the region. This means that we will stop supplying robots to Russia and Belarus.”
According to NPR, Russia is buckling under a raft of severe wide-ranging sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies. The impact from these sanctions have deepened the country’s economic pain following its invasion of Ukraine.
“As a global supplier of dairy farm robots, we are aware of our role in global food supply, including in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus,” Lely says. “We want to do right by the interests of the population (food supply), cows (animal welfare) and the promises we have made to our farmers, among others. On the other hand, we condemn all forms of violence used by Russia in this crisis. The current actions are not compatible with our values, and this has made us decide to completely stop our commercial activities in Russia and Belarus.”
Lely says it will not unilaterally stop supporting existing farmers in Russia, Belarus and surrounding countries due to the only reason of supplying parts and maintenance products to existing customers who are not on a sanctions list. The company says this is in the interest of supporting animal welfare and acknowledging the role farmers have in the country’s food supply.
