WHETHER there will be fallout in Australia from the corruption scandal that has engulfed global beef giant JBS is the talk, with breaking news the Brazilian-base parent company is looking to sell it’s United States lot feeding interests.
JBS Five Rivers, which Fairfax recently profiled here, is the world’s largest lot feeding outfit.
Reuters is reporting it is just one of a swag of assets JBS now plans to sell to allow the company’s controlling shareholder to repay a leniency fine in the billions, linked to a political bribery scandal in Brazil.
Also on the chopping block, according to Reuters, is a stake in Brazil-based dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA and big Northern Ireland chicken operation Moy Park Ltd.
The sale of the US cattle holdings, however, raises the biggest questions about whether any of the company’s Australian interests may soon have a for sale sign above them, according to local industry watchers.
JBS Australia, the largest meat processor in Australia with plants and feedlots in five states, is a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS internationally.
It has remained relatively tight-lipped on what is playing out in Brazil and there is widespread acknowledgment JBS Australia has tended to run a relatively independent operation.
Interestingly, only seven days ago JBS media consultants in Australia pointed Fairfax to international reports of a company statement saying no core assets at JBS USA, or any other part of the world, were candidates for sale.
The scale of Five Rivers is awe inspiring and the man who heads it up told Australian audiences last year he had enormous faith in the opportunities emerging for beef across the globe.
With 12 facilities across seven states, 700 team members and a combined feeding capacity of one million head, Five Rivers has almost double the capacity of its nearest competitor.
Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
