FINLAND – Valio, Finland’s biggest food business and milk processor, is combining its domestic and international marketing departments as it attempts to cope with changes resulting from the expanding European Union and global competition.

The company said that the change is also designed to take account of the fact that its home market has expanded to include the Baltic States, north-west Russia and Sweden.

“Valio must look ahead and adapt its structure to react faster to the changes around us,” said Valio’s president and chief executive Harry Salonaho.

Product sales will now be handled by market area by the respective regional studies, while the international sales department will cover industrial product sales in Finland, as well as their export.