MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian beef processor raises cattle slaughter capacity to 26.000 head

JBS has expanded aggressively in the last five years

Brazilian corporation JBS SA, the world's biggest beef processor said on Monday it had raised its slaughtering and de-boning capacity in Brazil by around 25% through the leasing of five more plants.

The facilities, all located in the centre-western state of Mato Grosso will increase the company's slaughter capacity by 5.150 head per day to more than 26.000 per day, it said in a statement.

“The integration of these plants, which are cleared to export to the world's main markets, strengthens the company's position in Brazil” said JBS.

Brazil is the world's largest beef exporter and also has the biggest cattle herd, numbering some 200 million.

A wave of consolidation, sponsored by the Brazilian government, is expected to take place in Brazil's beef sector, which leveraged strongly in recent years and was hit hard by the global financial crisis. Several beef companies have filed for bankruptcy protection in recent months.

JBS has embarked on an international buying spree in recent years, which won it control of rivals in Argentina, Australia and the United States, including US food processors Swift and Smithfield.

“We agreed to this business as further proof of our commitment to this industry in Brazil where we will generate more than 3.000 new jobs, and strengthen the production chain as well as expanding our market share in the beef industry” said Joesley Batista, JBS CEO.

JBS S.A. is currently the world's largest beef producer and exporter with a daily capacity of 73.9 thousand heads of cattle and the largest global exporter of processed beef. The company's operations include 25 plants located in 9 Brazilian states; 6 plants located in 4 Argentine provinces; 16 plants in the US; 10 in Australia and 10 in Italy.

Additionally, JBS S.A. is the third largest pork producer in the US, with a harvesting capacity of 48.500 heads per day.