Polish poultry business to focus on turkey
It will also be shutting down the meat processing facility in Swiebodzin, in western Poland, operated by its subsidiary LZD Eldrob.
"The Supervisory Board of Indykpol S.A. has provided a positive opinion on the budget for 2018, submitted by the company’s management board, which implies that the company’s activity will be focused on turkey meat," Indykpol said in a statement. "The management board presented the company’s … strategy, which implies a reduction of the offer to selected product groups which will guarantee obtaining a positive margin, to the supervisory board."
The statement says that, due to "a lack of consensus regarding the terms of further cooperation", the management board of Indykpol’s offshoot LZD Eldrob S.A. has submitted a motion to its supervisory board to shut down the plant in Swiebodzin.
"Eldrob, at its current level of production, does not use the possessed processing capacities of the plant in Swiebodzin. A further reduction in production, resulting from the loss of orders from Indykpol, will cause a further increase of the high and uncompetitive unit costs that are already excessive," Indykpol said.
This decision is in line with the company’s plan to modernise and raise its capacities in Olsztyn, in the country’s north-eastern part.
Last year, Indykpol unveiled plans to launch an investment worth about PLN 105m (€24.8m). Under the plan, the meat business is to increase the Olsztyn plant’s capacity by about 74%, raise the quality of its products, upgrade the facility’s evisceration line, and expand the slaughterhouse in Olsztyn. As part of the investment, Indykpol will construct new facilities, expand the existing ones, and acquire new machinery.
The project will allow the company to boost its exports to the European Union’s member states which account for about 90% of its foreign sales, as well as to Africa and the Far East. Other plans by Indykpol include launching exports to the Chinese market.
It is noteworthy that the demand for poultry meat is also expected to continue its growth in the company’s domestic market, according to the latest available figures from the Warsaw-based Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics (IERiGZ). This year, Poland’s average consumption of poultry meat is to grow to 30.5 kg per capita, up from 30 kg in 2017. Pork and beef meat consumption is to stagnate, at 40.5 kg and 2.2 kg per capita, respectively, as indicated by data from the state-run institute.
Should the forecast for 2018 prove to be correct, between 2013 and 2018, Poland’s average poultry meat consumption will report an aggregate increase of more than 15%.
Indykpol’s portfolio consists of hams, sausages, frankfurters, pâtés, and other products.
Established in 1951 as a state-owned meat processing business, the firm was privatised in 1991. Since October 1994, Indykpol has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
