Premium Porc to invest in efficiency in Romania
Premium Porc is Romania’s second-largest pig breeder, preceded only by the local subsidiary of pork meat producer and processor Smithfield. The business is aiming for sales of more than €57 million this year, according to senior company representatives.
Sales to rise
“For 2017, we estimate we will post an increase of about 4% to 5% in our group’s revenues. This increase will be based on higher efficiency in our production units – for instance, farms. We are focusing on increasing efficiency, which is a very important area,” Lars Drescher, the chief executive of Premium Porc Group, told local business daily Ziarul Financiar. “In this regard, we have been developing a series of internal improvement projects for the past few years, the results of which can be seen from year to year.”
In 2016, the company bred about 400,000 pigs at its farms in the Vrancea, Constanta, Olt, Sibiu and Braila municipalities. The farms are located in Romania’s southern region.
Investments to be completed this year
Premium Porc’s investment plans for this year include the company’s project to turn the farm in Sibiu into its largest pig slaughtering site, with a capacity of 171,1000 head per year, according to data from the company. Premium Porc acquired the farm in December 2015.
Under the plan, the farm will be modernised and expanded by September 2017 and the new facilities are due to begin operating one month later. Following the completion of the upgrade and expansion works, the farm will have a total surface area of 55,500sq m, of which some 27,500sq m will comprise new facilities, and a further 28,000sq m will be overhauled, Premium Porc said in a statement.
The firm is also carrying out an investment in Braila, where it plans to raise its breeding capacity to some 165,000 head per year. Premium Porc said it aimed to launch the investment this winter.
The two investments in Romania are estimated to be worth an aggregate €35m. They are part of the company’s strategy to double its pig breeding and feed production capacities by 2020.
In addition to its pig breeding activities, Premium Porc also operates two feed mills in Vrancea and Sibioara. The facilities have the capacity to produce some 70,000 tonnes (t) of feed each per year, according to figures from the business.
Romania’s meat market is dominated by pork meat, and an average Romanian consumes some 29kg of pork meat per year, according to figures from the state-run National Institute of Statistics (INSSE).
Established in 2006, Premium Porc, a local subsidiary of Denmark’s DCH International A/S, is headquartered in Vrancea, in Romania’s eastern region.
