ST.-PETERSBURG, February 22 - RAPSI. A regional commercial court has registered JFC Group's application for own bankruptcy.

JFC Group is the parent organization of Russia's largest fruit company.

The hearing date has yet to be scheduled.

JFC Group has so far declined to comment on the case.

According to the company's report its net profits between January and June 2011 went down 6.6 times year on year to reach 45.54 million rubles ($1.5 million), the proceeds shrank by 10.7 percent to make up 5.61 billion rubles ($188 million).

Established in St. Petersburg in 1994, the JFC Group comprises fruit production, procurement, storage, transportation and sales companies. It owns about 3,000 hectare banana plantations in Ecuador and Costa-Rica. JFC says it is the largest fruit supplier to the Russian market.

JFC has offices in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other Russian cities, as well as in Cyprus, Ecuador and Costa-Rica. Its personnel count 3,600. JFC sells fruits in Europe, Middle East and the CIS.