Ukrainian poultry products producer MHP aims to capture a share of the European market following the launch of trial operations at a new processing plant in the Netherlands.
The plant, set up with an investment of US$3.5m in co-operation with Dutch firm Jan Zandbergen in Veenendaal, comprises two cutting production lines.
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MHP chief executive officer Yuriy Kosyuk announced the move on 19 May as the company unveiled unaudited first-quarter results that showed a fall in operating profit of 37% to US$68m compared to the same period last year.
However, MHP said overall poultry production increased by 11% to 155,610 tonnes, compared to 140,370 tonnes for the first quarter of 2015. This was against a backdrop of “historically low poultry prices worldwide”. For the three months to the end of March, revenue rose 1% to $244m.
Kosyuk said: “Despite the challenging situation in Ukraine, I am confident that we will continue to deliver healthy operational and financial results in 2016 and beyond.”
MHP made a net loss of $71m due to $107m in non-cash foreign exchange losses but down from $292m a year earlier.
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By GlobalDataThe Dutch processing plant “is the next logical step in deepening our vertical integration” and export strategy, Kosyuk said. “This co-operation… is an opportunity to provide our European customers not only with commodity products, but also packaged ones for foodservice channels.”
MHP also operates a grain cultivation business, growing corn to support chicken production, and sells wheat and rape. The company leases agricultural land mainly in the highly fertile black soil regions of Ukraine.
