Atria and AS Dan Invest forms pig breeding alliance

Finnish meat and food processing company Atria, has signed an agreement with Danish firm AS Dan Invest, to establish a joint venture for pig breeding in Russia.

Under the terms of the agreement, Atria will hold 26% of the Russian subsidiary of AS Dan Invest - OOO. Dan-Invest, which owns two pig farms in Krasnodar and Tambov.

The production is scheduled to be officially launched in 2010-11 and by 2013, the new venture will have a total capacity to process more than 180,000 heads annually. The cost of the project is estimated at EUR40 million (US$57.1 million).

Local analysts believe that Russia's current pig market remains one of the most promising for foreign players, taking into account the ambitious plans of the local government to increase the level of the domestic pork production up to 5.6 million tonnes a year over the next several years.

In addition, Cooperl Arc Atlantique, one of the biggest French pork producers and Russian Pulkovo group of companies, announced its intention to establish a joint center for pig breeding and selection with the total level of investments of RUB2.5 billion (US$81.8 million) earlier this year.