October 10, 2012

Astral Foods Limited announces the opening of its MOZPINTOS broiler hatchery on Friday (Oct 5) which was officially opened by Maria Elias Jonas, Governor of Maputo Province, Mozambique.

Chris Schutte, Chief Executive Officer of Astral stated, "We have been involved in Mozambique for more than 10 years and have experienced growth in our business. Based on the same model as successfully implemented in Zambia, it was the next logical step in expanding our operations in this economically vibrant country, where Astral already has a presence since 2000, through its feed mill business, Meadow Mozambique Limitada".

"We believe that chicken, as an animal protein source, is the most affordable and sustainable form of animal protein in Africa. Our business plan for Africa begins by entering a market with feed premixes and concentrates, followed by feed production (Meadow Mozambique Limitada) and then identifying the most viable option to enter the poultry industry. This enables us to implement our strategy, integrating good animal nutrition with a poultry business leading to committed investments in Africa. The consistent development of the Mozambique economy together with growth in many industries in that country, and a favourable investment climate created by government, allows the establishment of poultry production capacity in Mozambique and supports the rationale for commissioning the MOZPINTOS Hatchery;" said Roedolf Steenkamp, Managing Director of Astral's African operations.

In December 2000, Astral together with Jorge Tinga, the Mayor of Namaacha and a respected businessman and farmer, formed a partnership and established Meadow Mozambique Limitada, which provides quality feed to the local livestock producers and will also provide feed to the MOZPINTOS breeder farm.

The MOZPINTOS Hatchery boasts the latest technology and adheres to international bio-security and safety standards. The initial capacity of the hatchery is 158,000 day-old chickens per week. Astral will be hatching the Ross 308 bird, which is well known to the Mozambique market and delivers excellent growth performance.

Steenkamp mentioned that there are already three poultry sheds on the farm that will be refurbished to house broiler breeders. Astral Board approval was obtained in August 2012 to build three new broiler breeder sheds. This will allow the hatchery to be self-sufficient in the supply of hatching eggs, which will replace the importation of hatching eggs from Astral's National Chicks operation in South Africa, which will be the case until the breeding farm is fully established.

Astral is also in the final stages of registering a chicken consumer brand called "Festiva," under which it plans to market processed chicken products in the future. Astral is considering investing in abattoir capacity to supply the local market with affordable and quality locally produced chicken under this brand.