Miratorg starts building biggest-ever Russian slaughterhouse
Alexander Mikhailov, governor of the Kursk Oblast, where the new facility will be based, during the sod-turning ceremony, said the slaughterhouse would definitely be the largest one in the country, and probably among the largest enterprises of this kind in Europe.
Given its scale, even for a company like Miratorg, it would be impossible to implement such a project alone, without the state support provided within the relevant federal programs in the form of reimbursement of interest rate and direct spends, Mikhailov indicated.
In Russia, the task to build new slaughterhouses and meat-processing facilities has become especially important, as the import-replacement trend in the meat industry gains momentum, he added.
The new slaughterhouse is designed to serve the needs of 15 pig farms to be built in Kursk Oblast in the course of the coming years, said Victor Linnik, CEO of Miratorg. The combined cost of the entire project is RUB160bn (US$2.75bn).
The first stage of the facility is slated to start operation in 2020, the second in 2021, Linnik predicted. The best-available technological solutions will be applied at the slaughterhouse, allowing the company to manufacture high-quality products at as low a cost as possible.
According to information posted on Miratorg’s website, the new facility will slaughter 4.5 million pigs annually – the entire stock from its new farms in Kursk Oblast. As a result, the agricultural holding will nearly double its overall pork production, increasing the total company’s meat output from 700,000 tonnes in 2017 to 1.1 million tonnes (t) in 2022.
In Kursk Oblast where the rest of Miratorg’s pig farms are located, supply has already exceeded internal demand by nearly three times, but in general Russia is still about 300,000t of pork short to completely meet the needs of the domestic market – Mikhailov said.
In this regard, the 500,000t of pork due to be manufactured at the new production site, will solve this problem and give impetus to the development of export supplies, he emphasised.
Miratorg is planning to invest RUB200bn (US$3.3bn) into new projects in the next three to five years, Linnik said, adding that the company was now considering “oceans of projects”. In addition to the expansion in the pig industry, the company is currently building new farms for the production of lamb and veal in central Russia, he noted.
On the export side, Linnik said Miratorg would reach US$60 million this year. If exports to China are opened up, the company would supply products totalling US$300 to this market alone, but talks with Chinese authorities on the issue “have been taking place for the eternity already”, he added.
