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"Sad disillusionment":
As a member of a business delegation, Lambertz boss Hermann Bühlbecker met Vladimir Putin personally in November 2019 - and presented him with a Dresden Stollen
Photo: Lambertz
Mr. Bühlbecker, DIHK President Peter Adrian is currently pessimistic about German-Russian trade relations. "I'm assuming that very little or nothing will work at first," he says. Do you fear something similar?
Hermann Bühlbecker:
I share this assessment.
At the moment we have stopped supplying goods to Ukraine and Russia.
Completely set?
Yes.
The uncertainties that delivered goods can no longer be paid for due to exclusion from the Swift payment system are simply too high.
In addition, this and in combination with other sanctions has resulted in a dramatic shortfall in the ruble, which is likely to increase further.
At the moment there are still considerable outstanding debts from our customers in Russia and the Ukraine.
We have no choice but to wait and see.
We distributed deliveries of goods that were on the way or at the Ukrainian border to Ukrainian aid organizations.
How important are the sales markets of Russia and Ukraine for the confectionery manufacturer Lambertz?
The sales markets of Russia and the Ukraine are not decisive for the existence of the Lambertz Group.
As growth markets, however, they are of particular importance to us: growth is limited in the West, but our products have good potential in Eastern Europe.
Gingerbread, for example, is in demand all year round in Eastern Europe, in contrast to Germany.
Russia and the Ukraine are among the most important wheat-growing countries. When the war broke out, prices skyrocketed. The increase comes on top of raw material and energy costs, which have already risen sharply. Is Lambertz prepared for such price jumps?
We constantly monitor the national and international raw material markets and try to secure our own supply at an early stage.
Beginning last year, but right now we are dealing with a massive concentration of problems that we have never known before.
What do you mean specifically?
2021 was already marked by considerable problems in the international flow of goods and in logistics, by shortages of goods such as packaging and large price increases for raw materials, energy and logistics services.
This overall situation has been exacerbated considerably by the Ukraine war.
So is Lambertz prepared for this?
"You can't prepare optimally for such a dramatic overall situation"
One cannot optimally prepare for such a dramatic overall situation.
This requires ongoing control of all processes and a degree of flexibility that has never been demanded of us before.
In the area of raw material and energy supply, one will also see which measures for security of supply are now being introduced by the Federal Government and the EU.
Will you increase the prices of printen, gingerbread and other goodies?
Yes, for the reasons explained, we will have to raise prices in the medium to long term.
We cannot assess to what extent these will then reach the end consumer, since it is not us, but the trade who decides on the end consumer prices.
What do you expect from 2022?
One does not have to be a prophet to predict that the problems will only increase.
The challenges are extraordinarily high, especially for medium-sized German companies.
When did we ever have such a crisis scenario after World War II?
After two years of crisis under Corona, the next shock follows: war in Europe.
"After World War II, when did we ever have such a crisis scenario?"
In the medium term, perhaps even in the long term, normalization on the commodity markets, in the energy sector or in logistics is hardly to be expected.
The pressure is enormous.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to reliably supply national and international trade.
It is to be feared that some companies will falter in view of the overall situation.
Politicians must try everything to have a stabilizing effect here.
Lambertz doesn't spend a cent on end consumer advertising, relies heavily on events - and has you as its brand ambassador. The "Lambertz Monday Night" is legendary - where you meet numerous celebrities every year at the International Sweets Fair. At the Aachen headquarters, a picture gallery also shows you with prominent politicians. How is your relationship to politics?
As a medium-sized entrepreneur, I think it is essential to exchange ideas with politicians - from the local to the top level.
This also applies in relation to the general conditions and opportunities for medium-sized companies in competition with large, mostly global corporations.
Through my work in national and international industry and business associations as well as in various charities, I regularly come into direct contact with politicians.
For example, there were several encounters with Mikhail Gorbachev.
At his invitation, I was also able to visit him in his private office in Moscow in 2015.
Through my position as Honorary Consul of the Ivory Coast, we have good contacts with the largest cocoa-growing country in the world.
The political sanctions against Russia also burden Lambertz. Do you understand?
"The decisions are up to the politicians, and the economy has to adjust accordingly"
For me it is inevitable that the decisions lie with politicians and that the economy has to adjust accordingly.
We are all deeply shocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This is an unjustifiable attack on a sovereign state and on peace in Europe.
Our thoughts and solidarity are now with the people of Ukraine.
Of course, we are aware that there will also be a high economic price to pay for this.
We expressly support the decision of the international community.
Economic considerations must now take a back seat.
In November 2019, you met Vladimir Putin as a member of a top-class business delegation in Sochi, Russia, and presented him with a Christmas stollen. Do you remember?
Of course, I can still remember this visit very well.
I was represented at this business meeting as a representative of the food industry in order to present the advantages and opportunities of increased German-Russian cooperation in this important economic and supply area.
At this meeting, both sides focused on a high degree of openness and the consensus to promote economic relations and to define new common goals.
In this round, too, Putin did not take a stand against these fundamental intentions.
Did you personally talk to Putin?
Putin has professional and private connections to Germany and also speaks very good German.
So there was a short conversation between him and me about Dresden and almost inevitably about Dresdner Stollen, which the Lambertz Group also produces.
This is how the spontaneous photo came about.
How do you feel about it today?
"We, and I too, were massively wrong about his actual motives and goals."
At that point in time and in this atmosphere, no one from our side in this group would have accepted what two years later is the bitter reality.
We, and I too, were massively wrong about his actual motives and goals.
In retrospect and in view of the acute situation, the photo is a very bitter memory and sad disillusionment for me.
Not because economic prospects have vanished into thin air due to the current situation, but because it shows how quickly the desire and need for peaceful coexistence can turn into war, suffering and misery.
You have met Vitali Klitschko several times in recent years. What connects you to the former professional boxer and current mayor of Kyiv, are you still in contact with Klitschko?
I have had a relationship with Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko for decades that goes beyond the usual meeting at events.
Both are extremely strong, extraordinary personalities.
I was always very impressed by her warmth, her standing and everything she did.
It is all the worse for me now to have to witness how both of them have to fight for their lives and the life and freedom of their people - without being able to intervene and help them oneself.
This helplessness discourages you.
If it weren't for the irrepressible courage of these two, who warns us not to lose courage and not to give up.
Especially in times of war one has to be careful with the term heroism.
For me they are heroes - the Ukrainians, the Europeans and the world community.