MSP Issue 28

interview
would be sold in the same volumes
as now, people would call them
crazy. With veal, we will achieve
the necessary results much faster
because “Miratorg” already has
significant experience in marketing
new products, and besides, the
consumers have become much more
educated and demanding.
The production of real rose veal
started in September. This product
is one of a kind in Russian market,
and it can already be purchased,
however, only in our corporate chain
for now. We saw that our partners
— retail networks, HoReCa liked the
veal. This interest is understandable.
It is an exclusive product, and no
other company except “Miratorg” can
provide the necessary production
technology in our country: from
feeding to slaughtering and packing.
Our rose veal will soon be available in
all key retail networks of the country.
What is the project’s
capacity? Do you think that veal
will be in demand?
– At the first stage — 30 ths.
fattening calves a year. This is a
modular project. We will study the
consumer opinion and evaluate the
demand and market situation. It is
a quite interesting dietary product,
with different consumer segments
showing interest in it, e.g. rose veal
is suitable for baby food. Hence,
we can add a second module with
the same capacity, and after that a
third module. The production volume
should reach 15 ths. t per year.
And what is happening
with the mutton production?
– As a matter of fact, it is a lamb
production because we use animals
from four to six months old. Mutton
is the meat of adult animals. The
project is already launched, and
the construction works have been
started. We plan to start supplying
the products approximately in 2019.
At the first stage it will be a pilot
farm which will be provided with
approx. 15 ths. animals of maternal
herd from Australia. After that we
will increase the production volume
which can ultimately reach tens of
thousands of tonnes.
The important thing is that launching
new projects (such as rose veal or
lamb production) is possible because
our company developed a verticallyintegrated
infrastructure “from the
field to the counter”. That’s why new
projects allow us to achieve synergy,
not least because of reaching a
deeper processing level.
One of the tasks of our meat
production is the maximum use
of the slaughtering output. By
processing carcass parts using
a specific technology, e.g. bones
which traditionally have been
considered as production waste,
we can achieve a new product line
(like broths and soups). And they
will be in demand on the market.
It’s just that before us there was
no necessary raw material base,
expertise and distribution in Russia.
Another new development of our
company is the launch of a kitchen
factory which will produce cooled
convenience foods and ready-toeat
meals. This is an additional
processing stage for marginality
improvement.
As previously reported,
“Miratorg” may start growing
vegetables…
– We see the development potential
in this area of activity. We actually
doubled the production capacity
of mixed frozen vegetables of the
“Vitamin” brand to 24 ths. t per
year. This was the first project when
“Miratorg” started its business.
Currently, we are developing a raw
material base for this area.
What is the total amount
that “Miratorg” will invest in all
areas this year? Can you tell us
the rough investment plans for the
next year?
– Our company is the largest
investor in the country’s agricultural
sector with the volume of
investments exceeding 200 bln
rubles. For the aforementioned
projects, including the building of
a brand new meat packing house
in Kursk Oblast and the developing
meat cattle project, the planned
level of investments for 2017 is 30
bln rubles. Roughly the same level is
included in the next year’s business
plan.
Does “Miratorg” plan to
grow through M&A transactions?
– The company’s position is simple:
regarding the development of
production capacities, we build
everything from scratch, including
modern buildings, equipment and
technologies, and we will not change
this strategy.
We purchase only the land which is
needed for the development of our
beef production project. Moreover,
we plan to double the capacity of
the pork segment which also needs
land.
On top of this, we are interested
in the crop growing business. We
grow not only fodder wheat but
also milling wheat for sale and
export. Wheat export is a new area
in “Miratorg’s” business. The reason
is that since we can successfully
grow high grade wheat, it is better
to make profit from its sales while
buying fodder from the market. We
build our business in such a way
that it can be maximally effective
at any moment, depending on the
situation.
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Source: Agroinvestor. http://meatinfo.ru
32 | MSP Magazine • October/November 2017