MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Benetton abattoir and tannery in Comodoro Rivadavia.

The Italian textile group Benetton will be investing 15 million US dollars in a sheep abattoir and a skin tannery in Patagonia where they own almost a million hectares of land, was announced last Monday in Comodoro Rivadavia.

Carlo Benetton one of the owners of the group traveled from Italy for the official presentation of the project that has the full support of city and provincial authorities.

Beginning next year the Benetton textile plants in Italy will be receiving 700,000 sheep skins from the tannery to be established in Comodoro Rivadavia.

Mr. Benetton also announced that the group has plans to process 5,000 tons of lamb and mutton per year which will be commercialized world wide under the trade name of Estancia Monte Aymond.

"This means creating 250 direct jobs and an additional 150 indirect jobs, plus the construction of an establishment of 15,000 square meters in the industrial free zone in Comodoro Rivadavia's port compound", said Mr. Benetton.

The abattoir will have an hourly processing capacity of 300 sheep and an annual capacity of 400,000. The whole project should be fully operational for the 2006/07 season.

"We've chosen Comodoro because of its geographical position in the heart of Patagonia and at least 25% of the sheep for the abattoir will come from farms in the area", revealed Mr. Benetton. "This is one of the most ambitious project regarding investment and job creation we have done in Argentina", said Mr. Benetton who recalled the group's investment in the country totals over 80 million US dollars.

The Benetton group with 280,000 sheep and an annual wool clip of 1,3 million kilos is the main producer in Argentine Patagonia. The group which began investing heavily in Argentina in 1991, five years ago established its own wool processing plant.

"First we purchased the land with the sheep; we then improved genetics, the infrastructure of the farms and bettered living conditions for farmhands", indicated Mr. Benetton who spends 3 to 4 months a year in Patagonia which he has been visiting for over thirty years.

When asked about a controversial bill under consideration in the Argentine Congress limiting foreign purchase of land, Mr. Benetton smiled and replied "I have no problem in becoming an Argentine citizen. Besides we have no plans for further purchasing of land, we're now in a different stage of the business".