Meat industry leader JBS has announced a 150 million reais ($28.3 million) investment aimed at doubling the processing capabilities of its beef facility in Brazil.
The company, headquartered in Sao Paulo, has disclosed that this financial input into the Campo Grande II site in Mato Grosso do Sul will allow the facility to increase its daily processing rate from 2,200 to 4,400 animals, while employment at the site will surge from 2,300 to 4,600 personnel.
This strategic development is anticipated to elevate the facility’s status to the largest beef plant in Latin America and position it among JBS’s top three facilities worldwide.
Gilberto Tomazoni, the global CEO of JBS, stated: “These 38 authorisations for China represent a gigantic step for Brazilian agribusiness. They mean growth, job creation, and income. For industry, for the countryside, for people, for commerce, for cities.”
The Brazilian government’s website indicates that following the recent authorisations from China, the tally of meat plants eligible to export to the Asian nation has risen to 144, up from 106. Notably, the state of Mato Grosso do Sul has seen its number of approved beef facilities increase from three to nine.
Following these approvals, beef production units in Mato Grosso do Sul now have the capacity to process approximately 2.3 million animals annually, marking a 392% increase and quadrupling the previous limit of 467,000 cattle.
Established in 2007 and acquired by JBS in 2010, the Campo Grande II unit produces 440 tonnes of meat and 136 tonnes of burgers daily.
In addition to China, the plant is authorized to export to numerous countries including the US, Algeria, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, the EU, and Chile.
In related news, earlier in March, the US division of JBS, along with Tyson Foods, agreed to a settlement of $127 million in a lawsuit alleging conspiracy to suppress worker wages. Under the settlement terms, JBS will contribute $55 million and Tyson $72.3 million as compensation.
The lawsuit, conducted in Colorado, implicated several meat companies and two consultancy firms in a scheme to artificially depress employee wages.
The update follows the approval on 12 March by the Chinese government for the Campo Grande II facility to begin beef exports to China.
JBS’s facility was one of 38 Brazilian plants recently granted approval by China for meat exports.