BRF, one of the largest food companies in the world, announced this Wednesday (20) the acquisition of a processed food factory in Henan province, China. The Brazilian company controlled by Marcos Molina it already sold its products in the country and now, for the first time, it starts producing processed foods on Chinese soil. It is the first Brazilian protein company to have a factory in China.
According to the company, around R$460 million will be invested in the processed meat factory, with R$250 million in the acquisition and the remainder in adjustments and expansion of two hamburger production lines. The objective is to double the factory’s capacity to 60 thousand tons per year.
The new production unit is expected to be operating under the management of BRF in the first quarter of 2025.
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The acquisition in China marks a new stage in BRF’s expansion project, which recently announced its first dividend distribution since 2016 (in the form of interest on equity) and recorded a profit of R$1.13 billion in the third quarter, compared with a loss of R$262 million in the same period last year.
The company, which underwent an intense restructuring process, has been controlled by Marfrig de Marcos Molina since 2022 and gained momentum last year with the raising of R$5.4 billion with a share offering (“follow on”). In the offer, the Saudi strategic partner Salic (Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company) acquired 10.7% of the company.
Today, the Brazilian company is responsible for the sale of one in every four chickens exported by Brazil. (With Reuters)
