March 13, 2007

Brazil's Bertin Group gets US$90 million loan from World Bank
 

Press release
 

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, announced Mar 8 its approval for a US$90 million loan to Bertin Group, Brazil's second-largest meat processing company.                          

The project allows IFC an opportunity to partner and engage a leading private sector company in tackling the most serious environmental and social issues facing Brazil's Amazon region.

With support from the money, Bertin will expand and modernise its operations across Brazil as part of its corporate investment programme. Additionally, the group will be able to develop a system, the first of its kind in Brazil, to ensure that Bertin's cattle are sourced from ranchers that use sustainable practices and do not contribute to increased deforestation of the Amazon. The project will adhere to IFC's environmental and social performance standards.

Bertin and IFC engaged in extensive consultations with local and national civil society organisations over the past year. The evaluation process included a thorough assessment of the direct and indirect impacts that the expansion of Bertin's meat processing plant in Maraba, Para state, could have on deforestation, and assessed how this project could be used to address social issues such as forced labour and agrarian violence.

IFC has developed with Bertin a cattle-purchasing procedure to ensure that the company's cattle suppliers in the Amazon region abide by a rigorous list of environmental and social requirements. IFC said it believes that careful monitoring and supervision would be key to successful implementation of the project.

Jean-Paul Pinard, director of IFC's agribusiness department, commented, "We look forward to working closely with Bertin as they implement the project, thereby helping to establish sustainable standards for the Brazilian meat industry".

Douglas de Oliveira, Bertin's Chief Financial Officer, remarked that no other investment bank is as strict as IFC on economic, environmental, and social assessments, and the group seeks to become a standard setter in sustainable development.