ST. PETERSBURG, May 3 - RAPSI. The St. Petersburg and Leningrad Regional Commercial Court will hear on May 24 Cargo JFC's petition for own bankruptcy. Cargo JFC is part of the major Russian fruit importer JFC.

JFC is currently under credit watch. The St. Petersburg Commercial Court will hear on May 15 the bankruptcy petition filed by Bonanza International, which is also part of the JFC Group.

Cargo JFC and Bonanza International acted as borrowers under a syndicated loan facility of up to $88 million and 1.5 billion rubles ($51 million) in spring 2011.

There are four lawsuits pending consideration by Moscow and St. Petersburg courts. Sberbank and Raiffeisen Bank seek to recover 4.975 billion rubles ($169.3 million) in debt from Cargo JFC.

In late February, JFC said a credit watch is necessary to protect creditors' interests and for the company to continue its business.

JFC claims its financial difficulties are a result of global market troubles.

JFC General Director Vladimir Kekhman plans to resolve the company's financial situation over the next three months and to revive its business potential.

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

JFC has offices in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other Russian cities, as well as in Cyprus, Ecuador and Costa Rica. It has a staff of 3,600.

JFC sells fruit in Europe, the Middle East and the CIS.