France's Terrena expanding meat business through mergers
The merger of French pig co-ops Cooperl and Terrena's pig-producing arm Arca is being agreed this week and take effect at the end of the year.
However, the final effective membership on January 1 is unlikely to be as high as the combined current producer numbers would suggest, media reports indicate.
Between now and the end of the year, Arca members will be consulted as to whether they want to transfer to the new Cooperl Arcatlantique co-op or stay in Terrena.
If not enough pig producers transfer, Cooperl Arcatlantique could find itself out of pigs next year.
Meanwhile, Terrena has also been collaborating with Breton co-op Unicopa. Terrena has announced its intention to join Unicopa in the framework of Union Pigalys through a commitment to supply pigs.
With the addition of Terrena, the new operation will take in 2.2 million pigs from nearly 1,000 producers from the regions of Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Poitou Charente.
Besides supplying pigs in the new arrangement, Terrena also signed a deal to hold a share of Unicopa's Broceliande charcuterie operation, which produces preserved meats such as bacon, ham, sausage).
Broceliande's meat business is one of the largest in France, marketing 53,000 tonnes of charcuterie last year. Terrena's involvement could boost Broceliande's output to around 70,000 tonnes/year over the next three years.