JBS SA director of investor relations Jerry O'Callaghan said on Wednesday (Mar 4) that the company is currently in a two-year process of raising slaughter capacity in Brazil by 10 percent.

O'Callaghan said the Sao Paulo-based beef producer has been slaughtering nearly 19,000 head per day for the last year and plans to add another 1,000 head of capacity by the end of this year.

He explained that JBS has been pouring money back into existing plants in Brazil for the past three to four years, but due to a relative short supply of cattle there, the company has been under utilising its capacity, thus, the company is looking to ramp up production now as facilities owned by competition may be reducing theirs.

JBS is currently evaluating which of its Brazilian plants will add capacity.