Cherkizovo JV secures funding for turkey meat production facility

Tambov Turkey, a joint venture (JV) between Russian meat manufacturer Cherkizovo and Spanish turkey meat producer Grupo Fuertes, has secured RUB1.2bn as the first credit tranche of a loan from Sberbank of Russia to set up a new turnkey production complex.

Grupo Fuertes and Cherkizovo will jointly invest more than RUB3bn in the project, which entails a total investment of RUB7.5bn and covers an area of 5,000 hectares in Tambov Region of Russia.

Sberbank CIB managing director Dmitry Sredin said that when preparing the lending deal the bank took into account the specifics of the client’s business, its reliability, and the project’s scale and potential.

"This is why even in the current challenging market conditions, we are providing long-term financing for up to eight years and looking forward to extending cooperation with our partners," added Sredin.

The Tambov Turkey project will be designed to produce over 40,000t of turkey meat per year (dressed weight).

Grupo Fuertes president Tomás Fuertes said: "In Russia, we have partnered with the country’s leaders in finance and agriculture.

"We are building a company that will be efficient, competitive and environmentally friendly.

"We will have everything that is required to provide consumers a great product."

Cherkizovo reported consolidated revenue of more than $1.6bn last year, producing more than half a million tonnes of meat and processed meat products.

The company aims for both organic growth and investment in new projects, driving the consolidation of the Russian meat market.

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Image: The Tambov Turkey project will be designed to produce over 40,000t of turkey meat per year (dressed weight). Photo courtesy of Cherkizovo Group.