Perdigao To Expand Poultry And Hog Production - BRAZIL - Perdigao will invest R$170 million in the expansion of the Rio Verde Agroindustrial Complex in Brazil to increase its poultry and hog slaughtering capacity and enlarge production lines.

Expansion works will begin this month with the total cost of the two-year project estimated at R$170 million.

Perdigao CEO Mr. Nildemar Secches said that by next December, poultry slaughtering will increase from 280,000 heads/day to 330,000 heads/day, while hog slaughtering will go from 3,500 heads/day to 4,000 heads/day. At that time, the expansion of the agroindustrial integration system will be proportional to the slaughtering capacity increase - 18% for poultry and 15% for hog.

The CEO highlighted that the impact of such expansion project on the industrialized products area will be gradual. The expansion and installation of new production lines involving sausages, frankfurters, hams and breaded products are scheduled to be implemented in the near future.

The Perdigao Agroindustrial Complex located in Rio Verde, the largest in Latin America, currently employs approximately 5,000 employees, producing, annually, 250,000 tons in products. Financially supported by BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank, and Banco do Brasil, the Company has already invested R$ 412 million in this unit, which is expected to generate R$ 1 billion in annual revenues.

Source: eFeedLink - 5th April 2004