September 7, 2009
Afgri to avoid bloating poultry business
Afgri ended merger talks with Sovereign Foods earlier this year because it did not want its chicken business to grow disproportionately larger than the rest of the group, according to CEO Chris Venter.
Afgri's poultry division produces 650,000 chickens per week, and a three-way arrangement between Afgri, Sovereign Foods and Country Bird would produce more than three million birds per week.
Venter said the company wants to reposition its foods business and have decided not to produce that many chickens.
Despite so, Afgri is accessing a number of opportunities in the poultry sector, he said.
The company plans to clinch a maximum of two transactions by the end of this financial year to shift production closer to the targeted 1.7 million birds per week, Venter added.
