JBS returns to Paraguay with $70 million investment, including plant purchase

Brazilian meatpacker JBS (Z98.F), opens new tab on Thursday announced investments of $70 million in Paraguay over the next two years, including the acquisition of a chicken processing plant, according to a statement.

The acquisition of Paraguayan chicken brand Pollos Amanecer, which owns a poultry plant in the Doctor Juan Eulogio Estigarribia district, from firm Campo 9 represents the first phase of JBS's new investment cycle in Paraguay, it said.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

JBS is the world's largest meat producer, employing more than 280,000 people in countries such as Brazil, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Australia.

The move, announced during the visit of Paraguayan President Santiago Peña to a plant of JBS in Brazil, marks JBS's return to Paraguay after the company sold cattle slaughterhouses in 2017 to Brazilian rival Minerva (BEEF3.SA), opens new tab.

KEY QUOTES

"We are confident that this operation will be a growth engine for the country," said JBS Chief Executive Officer Gilberto Tomazoni in a statement, adding the move would also accelerate "Paraguay's presence in the global chicken market."

"Paraguay offers good conditions for the development of poultry farming, and this investment reinforces our strategy of increasing the company's competitiveness and diversification," the CEO said.