The meat giant will engage in aquaculture

 Meat giant JBS will enter the aquaculture sector with the acquisition of Australian salmon producer Huon Aquaculture Group in a $312.9 million deal.

JBS has announced an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Huon Aquaculture, Australia's second largest salmon producer. The deal, with an estimated equity value of $315 million and an enterprise value of $403 million, has already been approved by the controlling shareholders and is expected to close by the end of 2021, subject to the approval of the other shareholders and the Australian authorities. The acquisition, due to be completed at the end of 2021, is subject to regulatory approval.

The vertically integrated Huon will mark the start of fish production by JBS, which already processes beef cattle, poultry, pigs and lamb in factories around the world. Huon has invested over A$350 million. over the past five years into an industry-leading production infrastructure and sustainable practices in the salmon production cycle, positioning the company for sustainable growth.

Huon has 13 production sites and three value-added processing units. For example, salmon is sold as fillets and can be found vacuum-packed in retail stores, and the company also produces smoked salmon products and caviar.

JBS is already operating in Tasmania with a beef processing plant in Longford. This is the company's second acquisition in Australia this year. In April, she acquired Rivalea, a leader in pig production. Since 2014, the company has been the owner of Primo Smallgoods, which has a portfolio of strong meat brands. JBS has been on the Australian market since 2007, with the acquisition of Swift.

According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), per capita fish consumption worldwide will increase by 5% in the next ten years. In Oceania, this figure should be 7%, and in China - 15%. The world's per capita consumption of fish exceeds that of poultry, pork or beef. According to the FAO, this figure exceeds 20 kg per year. For 1.5 billion people, fish makes up 20% of the average protein intake, while this figure exceeds more than 15% for 3 billion people. According to the forecasts of the FAO and the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), by 2023 the volume of aquaculture production for human consumption will exceed the catch from river and sea fisheries.