January 11, 2013

Jamaica Broilers to plant corn on 1,700-acre property

Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) with its purchase of SG Developments Limited has acquired a 1,700-acre property which is being put into corn production.

JBG is producing corn for its own use and will likely operate the farm itself, said Ian Parsard, senior vice-president for operations and finance. The poultry producer acquired SG during its last financial year ending April 2012. It owns 100% of the company.

"The land will be utilised to cultivate corn. We have completed the first pilot corn-production crop across 100 acres of land as of November 2012," Parsard said.

"We are repeating this production on an increased acreage (approximately 25% increase) in the first half of 2013."

The final price for SG Development was not directly disclosed but the poultry group's financials report a JMD117.58 million (US$1.3 million) expenditure for acquisition of a subsidiary.

Jamaica Broilers is growing corn as feedstock for its animal feed business. Parsard said it was too early to comment on the expected returns. A previous report noted that the first harvest took approximately 120 days to grow, with Jamaica Broilers receiving technical assistance from Belize and the US.

At the time, JBG also noted that it uses 11,000 tonnes a month, of corn, in livestock feed ration. Corn trades on the world market at close to US$7 per bushel.