BUCHAREST (Romania), February 4 (SeeNews) – Romanian meat processing company Agricola International Bacau, part of Agricola group, said on Thursday it plans to invest 9 million euro ($10.06 million) to modernise its farms this year.
The planned upgrades in farms located close to the eastern town of Bacau and the buildings in the Brad complex will raise the company's production capacity by 25-30%, president Grigore Horoi said, as quoted in a statement of the company.
Agricola Bacau International ended 2015 with a 365.9 million lei ($90.7 million/8.1 million euro) turnover, up 3.4% from the previous year. Its parent group Agricola posted a 655.5 million lei turnover, up 6% from 2014.
Growth was fuelled by poultry sales, which increased 5% on the year in 2015 and by raw-dried salami sales, which were up 30%.
Last year, the company invested 3.5 million euro to increase production capacity at the dried salami factory. Also, raw-dried sausages and boiled-smoked preparations sales were up 22.5% in 2015, as producer Salbac, part of Agricola group posted a 114 million lei turnover in 2015.
Europrod, the company through which Agricola Bacau group sells precooked and ready-meal-type products has maintained a combined market share of 19% in this category in 2015 with a 11% increase in sales, Agricola said.
In 2015, the group exported 13% of chicken meat obtained from its own farms in Britain, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Malta, Macedonia and Kosovo. Also, 23% of the production of precooked food sold through Europrod went to countries such as France, Denmark, the UK and Malta. The raw-dried salami producer Salbac exported 8% of its production in 2015, while boiled-smoked sausages exports totaled 19.6% and went to Spain, Italy, Britain, Austria, France and Greece, Agricola said.
Agricola is a meat processing group of companies founded in 1992 in Bacau county. The group consists of dairy farming firm Aicbac, pig reproduction and fattening company Suinprod, smoked meat producer ConAgra, dry salami producer Salbac, pre-cooked and prepared meat products seller Europrod, grain purchase company Comcereal, poultry and egg producer Avicola Lumina Constanta, construction company Agriconstruct and Bac Print printing house.
(1 euro = 4.5086 Romanian lei)