Argentina's Quickfood to build feedlot complex

Beef processor Quickfood SA plans to invest US$20 million to build a large feedlot complex in Argentina's Cordoba province.

The feedlot is expected to be operational before the end of the year and will pen between 20,000 and 22,000 cattle, Quickfood Director Miguel Gorelik said.

Quickfood is one of the country's top beef exporters, and the new feedlot will add 15% to the company's output, he said. Half of the expected development cost has already been raised by a recent bond offer, he added.

Quickfood is controlled by Brazil's Marfrig Frigorificos e Comercio de Alimentos SA, which bought 71% of the company in 2007 for US$141 million. Marfrig is one of the world's largest beef producers.

The new feedlot announcement follows a December deal with Adeco Agropecuaria SA, in which Quickfood agreed to pay US$14.5 million to buy 53,000 cattle and sign a long-term lease agreement for 74,000 hectares in the Argentine provinces of Corrientes, Formosa, Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero, in addition to two feedlots in Corrientes and Santa Fe.

The number of feedlots in Argentina has skyrocketed over the past year due to subsidies designed to keep domestic meat prices down.

Between five million and six million cattle are now passing through feedlots each year, almost half of the estimated 14 million animals slaughtered.