“The increase in production is due to reaching full capacity in two phases of the Safonovsky pig farm and three phases of the Kalinowski farm, as well as launching two phases at the Novoyakovlevsky farm and two phases at the Corocha farm,” a Miratorg spokesperson said.
Miratorg's meat processing volumes for the first three months of 2012 amounted to 33,000t, up 2% from the same period in 2011 (32,300t). Industrial packaging products saw 11% growth and products in consumer packaging enjoyed 73% growth. In the first quarter of 2012, the company's total production of animal feed amounted to 163,370t, 134.61% higher than in 2011 (69,635t).
Miratorg also announced the implementation of the first phase of its RUB24bn (US$790m) cattle project in the Bryansk region. To date, 14 cattle farms have been built, 12 of them already operational, and the total number of cattle on the agricultural holding has reached 36,000. Miratorg is preparing to deliver another 20,000 head of breeding cattle on its Bryansk farms in April and May this year, expecting to increase the parent flock by 80,000 head by this autumn. The company will complete the construction of another 16 farms in the Bryansk region by the end of 2012.
In total under this project, Miratorg intends to construct 33 farms, as well as a slaughtering and meat processing complex. By 2014, livestock production is expected to reach 120,000 head per year. In parallel, Miratorg announced the completion of three of seven poultry facilities in the Kaliningrad region, with a total investment of RUB19.3bn (US$873m).
Miratorg is currently pursuing an aggressive policy of increasing rates of production to boost its position in all segments of the agricultural market before Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). By the end of 2011, Miratorg was the largest producer of pork and compound feed on the Russian territory.