News
21 June 2018
300,000 chickens infected with bird flu at Cherkizovo
News -Cherkizovo Group, the largest meat producer in Russia, confirmed an outbreak of avian influenza at Vasilyevskaya poultry farm in the Penza region. The virus was detected on the isolated site Vertunovka, intended solely for the reproduction of the parent herd and the production of incubation eggs. This site is situated 200 km away from the main...
21 June 2018
A new large chicken farm to end malnutrition in Ethiopia
News -Nutropia Poultry & Feed PLC, one of the largest poultry meat producers in Ethiopia, concluded a deal worth EUR 20 million ($ 23 million) with Agrotop Ltd, an Israel-based construction company specializing in livestock turnkey projects, to build a large scale poultry farm with headquarters in Addis Abeba. The project start is envisaged for 2018....
21 June 2018
Miratorg increased number of employees in Kursk region by 6%
News -The number of employees of the company Miratorg in Kursk region increased by 6% since the beginning of 2018 reaching 1870 people. Miratorg's enterprises in Kursk region include 8 pig farms, a dairy farm, a veal production plant, a sheep breeding complex and grain storage plants. The company offers jobs to both highly qualified specialists and people without special education and work experience. The total number of employees of Miratorg exceeds 30,000 and is constantly growing. The company is actively creating new jobs mainly for rural residents, providing them with worthy salaries and social guarantees. The agroholding aims at increasing socio-economic stability and welfare for population and at reducing the outflow of residents from rural areas.
21 June 2018
MHP found a legal way to avoid EU import restrictions
News -MHP, a company controlled by Yuriy Kosyuk that accounts for half of Ukraine’s chicken production, has found a tariff-free way to import chicken meat to the EU. EU applies high tariffs and restricted quotas to imported chicken breasts to protect EU farmers from foreign competition. However, in 2016 the EU concluded a trade deal with Ukraine allowing a tariff-free export of a bony cut of chicken breast with a piece of wing bone attached. MHP has been accused of using this loophole to bypass tariffs by sending chicken breasts with a wing bone attached to EU plants, where the bone is sliced out. MHP denies any charges and insists it complies with the rules of the free trade deal. In 2017 the EU imported 27.000 tonnes of chicken breast with wing bone from Ukraine.
19 June 2018
Large farms in China use less agricultural chemicals
News -China uses more than 30% of global agrochemicals on only 9% of the world’s cropland. This fact makes it the largest consumer of agricultural chemicals worldwide. The recent scientific study reveals that small farms are the main cause of it, because they overuse fertilizers. The use of agrochemicals by larger farms tends to be more efficient than...
19 June 2018
Cresud buys back shares again
News -Cresud, one of the biggest agricultural companies in Latin America, once again buys back its shares. Since January a total of 14,506,145 shares have been bought back by the company at New York and Buenos Aires stock exchanges for a total of $ 278 million representing 69.7% of the total approved program. Cresud engages in production of grains, sugar cane, meat, and milk, as well as in acquisition, development, and exploitation of agricultural properties for rental, shopping centers, and hotels.
18 June 2018
Karan Beef to be bought out for $ 445 million
News -The management of Karan Beef considers purchasing a part or the business of Karan Beef (Pty) Ltd based south of Johannesburg. In order to obtain the funding managers may approach the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages pension funds of South African government workers. The buyout will value the company at about ZAR 6 billion ($ 445 million). Karan Beef was founded by the Karan family in 1974. The company breeds 150,000 heads of cattle on 2,330 hectares of land and is considered to be the largest cattle ranch in South Africa and in the southern hemisphere.
15 June 2018
US dairy industry is shifting toward larger farms
News -Large farms produce a lot of milk at a low cost in the US. In fact, large farms produce so much milk that it hurts the overall US dairy market. The abundance of supply on the market resulted in low milk prices in the last few years. Family-owned dairy farms across the country are struggling to survive. The creameries refuse to buy their milk, since they can get it much cheaper from large farms. As a result, the US dairy industry has been facing massive consolidation during last 15 years. Some experts suggest a quota system to prevent massive corporate farms from producing so much milk.
13 June 2018
Avex in the process of restructuring its business
News -Avex, one of Argentina's largest producers and exporters of poultry and a subsidiary of the Brazilian group BRF, officially announced its plan to restructure the business in Rio Cuarto. The aim is to improve operational and financial performance. The company plans to decrease its slaughter capacity to 35.000 heads per day and to lay off 100 employees. These measures are necessary to avoid a complete facility closure.
13 June 2018
Farms become larger and more integrated in South Africa
News -The South African agriculture is characterized by a strong consolidation trend. In 2011 there were approximately 7,500 dairy farmers. Today, their number decreased to 1,500. Although the number of farms dropped, the number of cows is increasing and so is the amount of milk produced by them. The same consolidation trends are observed in the pig and poultry sectors. There has been a strong decline in the number of poultry farms since 2011. Besides consolidating, the poultry industry is becoming vertically integrated. Big poultry integrators make their own feed in their own mills.