São Paulo – The Colombian meat packing company Red Cárnica began exporting to the Arab market following its buyout by Brazil’s Minerva Foods early this year. Formerly with no relevant international presence, it is now branching out abroad, and started selling to Jordan in September. “The company’s intention is to increase export volume and spread into even more markets, such as Egypt and Lebanon,” Minerva Foods Investor Relations director Eduardo Puzziello told ANBA in an email interview.
Red Cárnica is also shipping product to Russia, Angola and Peru. Puzziello claims Minerva hasn’t set any goals regarding domestic-to-foreign sales ratios. “But given the great potential of the Colombian market, we reckon a two-pronged approach will be taken in Colombia, with strong domestic and foreign exposure, depending on demand for each of the products in line,” he said.
As for plans to sell to Arabs from Colombia as well, Puzziello notes that Minerva is already an industry leader in kosher and halal meat, which it exports from Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay to Arab countries. “The company’s goal is to focus on increasing sales to other markets across the Middle East and North Africa, in line with what we have done with other units of ours, and thus increase our commercial diversification,” he told ANBA.
Minerva plans on streamlining production for Red Cárnica to match its own. Another strategy that has been outlined for Red Cárnica, according to Puzziello, is to invest in obtaining more exporting licenses in order to sell globally, in Asia, South America and Europe, rather than only to the Arab countries.
Minerva announced the Red Cárnica buyout in February and took charge of operations in August. The Colombian meat packer comprises two companies, Red Cárnica and Red Industrial, with a slaughtering and deboning capacity of 850 heads of cattle a day. The company’s plant is located in the Ciénaga de Oro municipality, in the Córdoba Department. The area is Colombia’s leading meat producer and has access to ports in Tolú, Cartagena and Barranquilla.
Puzziello believes Colombia’s production potential resides in its large herd, of some 25 million heads of cattle, similar in size to Australia’s, and in the free-trade agreement it sustains with the United States. The Minerva Investor Relations director believes this could mean stronger exports from the Colombian unit, once the necessary adaptations and certifications are in place.
Minerva bought 100% of the Colombian meat packer’s shares. On disclosing the deal last February, it announced that total investment would be USD 30 million. The sum includes asset acquisition, working capital, and expansion/modernization efforts at Red Cárnica facilities.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
