American soft drink giant PepsiCo has fully halted production in Russia months after promising to suspend sales and production in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Russia was PepsiCo’s third-largest market in 2021 after the United States and Mexico.
A PepsiCo spokesperson quoted by Reuters said Pepsi, 7UP and Mountain Dew production in Russia has stopped “in line with” its early March announcement suspending production, sales, promotional activities and advertising in the sanctions-hit country.
"All concentrates have subsequently been exhausted in Russia and production has ended," they were quoted as saying on Sept. 8.
The spokesperson declined to comment when asked whether sales had been halted as well.
PepsiCo’s rival Coca-Cola had said in June that its bottler and existing customers in Russia were depleting stock, after which production and sales of Coke products would end in Russia.
But Reuters reported that its review of dozens of supermarkets and stores in and around Moscow showed Pepsi and Coca-Cola products still being sold, with Aug. 17 shown as the latest date of production.
PepsiCo has said it would continue selling milk, baby food and other daily essentials in Russia.
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