FDBusiness.com

Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest meat manufacturer, has signed an agreement with the Tambov Region administration to receive support from the regional government for the construction of the second stage of its Tambov Turkey production site. The agreement provides for the construction of new nursery and finisher sites in the Tambov Region’s Pervomaysky District by mid-2021.

The new facilities will ramp up Tambov Turkey’s output by nearly 50% to 82,000 tonnes of live weight meat per year, while its current annual volumes stand at some 55,000 tonnes of turkey. An estimated RUB4 billion (€56 million) will be spent on production expansion, and the project will create 205 new jobs in the region.

Under the agreement, the region will provide a total of RUB211 million in property tax benefits to Tambov Turkey in the period from 2020 to 2025.

Tambov Turkey is an equal-stake joint venture between Cherkizovo Group and Spain’s Grupo Fuertes. It produces a wide range of products under the Pava-Pava brand using a special extra lean turkey breed. In 2018, Pava-Pava received the Product of the Year award in the Eco-friendly Meat category.

“Turkey consumption in Russia is relatively low compared to pork and poultry. However, we have seen it double over the past decade, and expect the demand for turkey to rise considerably in the coming years. By boosting capacity at Tambov Turkey, we are planning to increase the offering of our quality product to fully meet market demand and hopefully become the number one turkey producer in Russia,” says Sergey Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group.

The agreement was signed by Sergey Mikhailov and Alexander Nikitin, Head of the Tambov Region Administration.

“Cherkizovo Group is a strategic investor in the Tambov Region, having invested some RUB9.7 billion in our economy over the past 10 years. Close to 2,000 of our residents are employed at the group’s facilities. It is therefore critical that we create favorable conditions for companies with major investments in the region by facilitating infrastructure construction and providing legislative support,” comments Alexander Nikitin. “By helping them achieve their production targets, we are contributing to the social well-being of our people and bringing in tax revenues for the region. On top of that, investment projects like that promote food security and import substitution.”