July 14, 2009
Brazil's Marfrig leases another slaughter plant
Brazilian beef processing company Marfrig said on Monday (July 13) it has signed an agreement to lease another slaughter plant in the country's southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul.
The 400-head-per-day facility, which belongs to Extremo Sul SA beef processor, is located in Pelotas, about 51 km (31.7 miles) from Rio Grande port, and is cleared to export beef to the EU, Russia and Chile, Marfrig said in a statement.
The lease agreement, which is still undergoing due diligence, will be run for 36 months. The plant is expected to come on-line on August 1, Marfrig said.
The company has another slaughter facility in Rio Grande do Sul and a plant producing industrialized beef products.
Many debt-laden Brazilian beef processors were hit hard by the global credit crisis which contributed to a slump in imports by major clients in Europe, Asia and the US.
Several companies filed for bankruptcy protection late in 2008, but the overall situation seems to be recovering as liquidity in global credit markets improves.
JBS SA, the world's biggest beef processor, said earlier this month it was going to raise its slaughtering and deboning capacity in Brazil by around 25 percent through the leasing of five more plants, all in Mato Grosso state.
