Russian sugar, pork company Ros Agro moves into poultry

Ros Agro of Russia has become a minority stakeholder in the Uralbroiler Group of Companies. Uralbroiler is one of the largest meat producers in the Ural Federal District with output of around 110,000 tons of poultry and 18,000 tons of pork.
Ros Agro says it plans to become a major owner of Uralbroiler’s enterprises within two months.
The story of Ros Agro (previously Rusagro) – among the largest vertically-integrated agriculture industry holding companies in Russia and the CIS - began in 1995 with sugar importation. Later, it added the processing of raw sugar cane in Russia, becoming one of the country’s largest companies in this sector over the last decade. The company added a pig breeding complex in Belgorod to its portfolio in 2006, followed by a slaughterhouse and processing plant in Tambov, as well as expanding its land bank and arable business. In 2011, as Ros Agro PLC, it became a public company on the London stock exchange.
In 2014, the company’s pork production exceeded 186,000 metric tons, giving it a market share of 6.3 percent and making it Russia’s second largest pig meat producer.
“The meat market in the European part of Russia has reached maturity and the growth of the company in this segment and region will be focusing on operational improvement and processing depth increase,” commented Maxim Basov, a member of the board of directors of Ros Agro PLC and CEO of the group, in the company’s latest quarterly report.

Grupo Corporativo Fuertes buys share of Cherkizovo Group

Grupo Corporativo Fuertes S.L. of Spain has acquired a 5.06 percent share of Russian-based Cherkizovo Group after buying shares in the open market, reports Reuters.
Grupo Corporativo Fuertes S.L. is one of Spain’s largest agricultural holdings, with an annual revenue of more than EUR1.4 billion (US$1.5 billion) and more than 6,000 employees. PJSC Cherkizovo Group is Russia’s largest meat and feed producer.
The total representation of Grupo Corporativo Fuertes S.L. has an approximate valuation of US$30 million.
“We started looking for a strategic partner in Russia 10 years ago,” said Tomás Fuertes, president of Grupo Fuertes. “Four years ago, we chose PJSC Cherkizovo Group because we spoke the same business language: long-term goals, leadership ambitions, quality, transparency, modernization. Both of our companies grew into agro-industrial holdings from small family companies, with strong traditional values and passion for agriculture.”
“We are honored that our long-term strategic partner has decided to acquire a substantial stake in our company at the time when Western companies have pulled back their investments and are cautious about the future growth of the Russian market,” said Sergey Mikhailov, CEO, PJSC Cherkizovo Group. “We are indeed the largest vertically integrated agricultural holding in Russia. We are a company that has grown out of strong family traditions into a leader in innovations and efficiency. We adhere to world class standards in corporate governance and financial reporting. I believe all of the above has set us aside from our peers and motivated a company as large and as influential as Grupo Corporativo Fuertes S.L. to invest not only in a joint venture with us, but also in our future market value, which we are already jointly building.
“The Russian consumer market is No. 6 in the world. For years, its agricultural potential has been undervalued. Today, we strongly believe that Russia's agricultural sector is becoming a real driver of the country's economy. In our view, PJSC Cherkizovo Group, to a large extent, defines the agricultural scene. For us it is a proxy for the sector, a reliable and open partner, with whom we are set to become the leaders in turkey production in Russia.
We also believe that Russia has all the makings of becoming a leader on the export market, and Cherkizovo Group, in our view, will be in the lead. That is why a decision to become a shareholder was an obvious one for us, and the one that will incentivize us to work towards long-term value of all the businesses of PJSC Cherkizovo Group,” added Mikhailov.
PJSC Cherkizovo Group and Grupo Corporativo Fuertes S.L. entered into a strategic partnership in 2012 having launched a joint turkey production complex in the Tambov region, poised to become Russia’s largest turkey growing facility once it is completed in 2016.

Volovskiy Broiler's new hatchery will advance poultry production

Volovskiy Broiler is commissioning SmartPro™ single-stage incubation from Pas Reform Russia for the development of a new, state-of-the-art hatchery in the Volovo region of Tula.
Batyrzhon Nurullaev, the hatchery’s General Director, says that Pas Reform was selected – after a rigorous assessment of potential suppliers and technological capabilities – to undertake the ambitious project that will target the production of 46 mln eggs per year.
The planned installation includes nine SmartSetPro™-6 setters, each with a capacity of 124,416 hatching eggs and fourteen SmartSetPro™ 82,944 egg-capacity setters. Each setter incorporates Pas Reform’s innovative Adaptive Metabolic Feedback™ (AMF™) system to further fine-tune the incubation environment specifically to the needs of the growing embryos.
The hatchery will also feature Pas Reform’s SmartHatchPro™ hatchers, each with a capacity of 20,736 eggs, as well as climate control, a range of hatchery automation systems and purpose-engineered sliding doors. These features maintain optimized environments in incubation rooms and offer common access to temperature-controlled processing areas.
In addition to the hatchery, Volovskiy Broiler is building a slaughterhouse, meat processing factory and feed mill to ensure quality and maintain stringent standards of biosecurity in what will ultimately be a closed cycle operation. The complex already includes 70 houses, with hatching eggs supplied by Aviagen.
Volovskiy Broiler’s poultry and meat products will be sold throughout Volovo with distribution extending to neighboring regions through a network of branded sales outlets.
Vladimir Gruzdev, the Region’s Governor, shared his enthusiasm for Volovskiy Broiler’s plans when he visited the site in July. “This new facility will create 900 new jobs for local people,” he said. “As a modern and progressive company, I hope that Volovskiy’s commitment to quality and growth will serve to encourage other companies in Tula, to upgrade their production facilities with an eye on the future.”

Russia authorizes imports of Brazilian poultry genetics

Russia has opened the door to poultry genetic material from Brazil, according to the Brazilian Association for Animal Protein (ABPA).
The authorization, according to information received from the agriculture ministry in Brazil, will cover shipments of day-old chicks and hatching eggs of chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and ostriches.
Commenting on the development, ABPA Chief Executive Francisco Turra, said that the authorization confirms Russia’s confidence in the sanitary and health standards of the Brazilian poultry sector. He expressed his hope that this would be the start of further trade to Eastern Europe.
A possible explanation for the move is that, since imposing a ban on all poultry imports from the U.S., EU and other countries more than a year ago, Russia has been unable to source sufficient high-level genetics in the form of hatchlings and hatching eggs to meet its target for close to complete self-sufficiency in the poultry sector.

Charoen Pokphand Foods invests in Russia

CPF’s board of directors has approved its Dutch subsidiary to enter into discussions to buy an integrated poultry business in Russia from Agro Invest Brinky B.V.
The acquisition will be completed in two transactions. CPF will acquire an 80 percent interest by the end of 2015, and the remaining 20 percent interest will be acquired by the end of 2018, according to a company press release. In the first transaction, CPF Netherlands will acquire a Russian company that will hold 80 percent interest in CJSC Poultry Production Severnaya and CJSC Poultry Parent Stock Production Woyskovitsy, which together produce feed, parent stock and day-old chicks as well as operating broiler houses and primary processing. In 2014, the two companies generated consolidated sales of RUB16,935 million (US$285.6 million) and net income of RUB5,097 million, and the overall enterprise was valued at US$680 million.
Commenting on the move, president and CEO of CPF, Adirek Sripratak, said the board of directors foresees the acquisition as an opportunity for CPF to expand further into Russia, where there is significant potential for increasing meat consumption.
Together, the Severnaya and Woyskovitsy operations are thought to be among the top 5 poultry companies in Russia with an estimated 5 percent share of the domestic poultry industry, and Adirek stated that the transaction will give CPF access to the markets of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
CFP’s existing feed, swine interests in Russia
The latest acquisitions will join other CPF business interests in Russia, which include animal feeds and pig production through the operations of Charoen Pokphand Foods (Overseas) L.L.C., CPF AGRO L.L.C. and subsidiaries of Russia Baltic Pork Invest ASA (RBPI), according to the latest annual report from Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co. Ltd.
The company also stated its intention to focus on the overseas business expansion and the acquisition of relevant businesses in 2015. A target of 10 percent was set for sales growth over the year, with most of this derived from the company’s international business. Strong growth is expected in ASEAN member countries and Indochina.
CPF reported total sales of THB96,224 million (US$2,759.4 million) for the first quarter of 2015, of which 63 percent was from its international operations and exports. The company posted a net profit of THB2,956 million – 44 percent more than in the same period of 2014.
This month, the Charoen Pokphand Group and the government of Jilin province are planning a Jilin Chia Tai Foods Co. Ltd. poultry plant project in China, which will have the capacity to process 100 million broilers annually.

Eurodon launches first turkey brood at Russian hatchery

Eurodon introduced the launch of the first poult brood at the Russia’s largest turkey culturing incubator. 
Eurodon has introduced the launch of the first turkey poult brood at the Russia’s largest turkey culturing incubator. It’s located at Ust-Donetsk region of Rostov region in the south of Russia.
The incubator capacity is 17.6 million hatching eggs per year. The incubator is equipped with high-tech innovative equipment supplied by German company Hartmann. The hatching machines are provided by Petersime. An estimated 64,000 eggs were placed in special chambers at once. The first poults hatched in 28 days and were settled in special nursery housings.
The hatchery was built in a record time, with the land planning and excavations starting in August 2014. and May 2015 it became fully functional.
The project is a part of a new widescale turkey meat production complex, which will let Eurodon increase the production from 45 to 130 thousand tons of turkey meat per year.
The head of the company,  Vadim Vaneev, succeeded to attract  RUB18 billion (US$320 million)  to increase production capacity of the company. Project funding was approved by Vnesheconombank.
The company is actively building new poultry facilities on 30 construction sites covering 740 square meters. All of the objects will be united by a single technological cycle: poultry houses, incubator, meat processing plant, feed plant, motor company and many secondary productions.
Completion of the project will let Eurodon to increase overall turkey production up to 130 thousand tons by the end of 2016.
The successful completion of Eurodon projects will allow the company to create 65,000 jobs.

Mosselprom expansion continues in Moscow region

The Cherkizovo Group continues to cement its leading position in poultry in Russia, with further investment for member company ZAO “Mosselprom,” which will equip its hatchery in the Moscow region with Smart™ incubation technologies from Dutch supplier Pas Reform. The hatchery capacity is 48 million eggs per year.
Established in 2000, Mosselprom has gained a reputation as one of the most efficient agricultural producers in the country. Fully integrated operations encompass every process, from the cultivation of wheat to retail distribution, making the company fully independent in its production of broilers and poultry meat products.
State of the art technologies are employed throughout the production cycle, with all equipment supplied and installed by industry leaders. Pas Reform was selected for the supply of its Smart hatchery technologies following a long-standing association with Mosselprom and the Dutch company’s global reputation for innovation and high standards in its incubation, climate control and hatchery automation technologies.
Mosselprom’s strategy is built around strict principles of safe, ecological production, to provide consumers in the region with fresh chicken meat and products of the highest quality.  As a result, the company’s leading branded products are actively sought by buyers throughout the region.
Except incubation systems, Mosselprom company installed recently hatchery automation line including a chick counter and boxing line, spray vaccinator for fast, accurate chick handling; modular washing machine and macerator to ensure high level of hygiene in the hatchery.
It is no secret that well-designed and adjusted hatchery automation systems ensure high accuracy and operations sequence, improve quality of chicks, optimizes operating results and reduces labor costs.
In addition to the design and installation of the hatchery, Pas Reform’s senior poultry specialists and highly qualified technicians will continue to conduct regular site visits to monitor hatchery data and equipment and provide ongoing technical and consultancy services for Mosselprom’s management team.
General Director of Pas Reform Russia, Wim Schaafsma, says: “Mosselprom is a very dynamic, progressive company - and with a strategy that centers on safety and sound ecological values in production, highly critical on the subjects of quality and efficiency.
“Having cooperated successfully through a number of phases of the company’s ambitious plans for expansion, we are delighted that Mosselprom once again chose Pas Reform as its incubation partner, as it focuses on further growth in the future.”

Jamesway continues to build inventory in Russia

Incubator company Jamesway continues to build inventory in Russian spare parts warehouse. “We were the first international poultry incubation company to enter the Russian market back in the 1990s,” explains Jamesway President Dr. Ian MacKinnon. “We have a commitment to those customers to ensure that their hatchery continues to be a part of their meat production system that does not give them any concern. We have that same commitment at each of our customer installations. To get spare parts to our customers quickly, we opened a spare parts warehouse near Moscow a few years ago. That warehouse is servicing our Russian customers so they don’t have to wait for solutions to their hatchery needs.”

Cherkizovo poultry, pork sales up in 2014

• 

  National Chicken Council

  Cherkizovo reported an increase in sales in its poultry, pork and meat processing divisions in 2014.

  From WATTAgNet:
  Cherkizovo, Russia’s largest meat, poultry and food producer, experienced a substantial jump in sales in both its poultry and pork divisions at the completion of fiscal year 2014.
  The company reported that the sales volume for its poultry division in 2014 increased by 22 percent to 416,622 metric tons of sellable weight, including 58,417 metric tons of sellable weight produced by Lisko Broiler. Cherkizovo acquired Lisko Broiler on March 25, 2014.
  The increase in sales volumes was aided by an increase in sales prices in ruble terms. Prices increased 18 percent year-over-year to RUB90.7 per kilogram.
  The company also saw an increase in sales volume in its pork division, increasing by eight percent to 170,172 metric tons of live weight. Pork prices increased even more dramatically than poultry prices in 2014 to help Cherkizovo’s revenues. Pork prices increased by 47 percent when compared to 2013, reaching an average price of RUB96.25 per kilogram.
  Cherkizovo also reported a seven percent increase of sales volume in its meat processing division, selling 144,189 metric tons. Prices increased by 12 percent in ruble terms for the year.
  Cherkizovo’s grain division had a good year, harvesting 40 percent more grain than it did in 2013. It increased grain sales by 70 percent to 237,106 metric tons, with prices increasing by about 20 percent.
  Cherkizovo Group’s brands include Cherkizovsky, Petelinka, Kurinoe Tsarstvo, and Mosselprom.

Cherkizovo Group to grow in poultry, pork and feed sectors

Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest meat and food producer, plans to substantially increase the production of poultry and pork in the Voronezh region by investing nearly RUB4 billion (US$107 million) in business development. Igor Babaev, chairman of the board of directors of Cherkizovo Group, made this announcement during a working meeting with Governor of Voronezh region Alexei Gordeev.
"By investing 4 billion rubles, we will substantially increase production levels,” Babaev said. “This prospect means further development, more jobs and higher wages, and will help ensure the country’s food security.”
Cherkizovo Group, Russia's largest meat and fodder manufacturer, has been present in the Voronezh region for eight years. During this time, the company has invested nearly RUB10 billion (US$268 million) in the regional economy, including the acquisition of Lisko Broiler earlier in 2014. Activities in the Voronezh region include poultry and commercial pork production, swine nucleus units, grain farming and fodder manufacturing. In 2013 alone, Cherkizovo produced 14,000 metric tons of pork, 95,000 metric tons of poultry and harvested nearly 103,000 metric tons of crops in the region.
Cherkizovo, Lisko Broiler to experience growth
Lisko Broiler will launch additional slaughtering lines in 2014, which will increase output by 15,000 metric tons in 2015. The company is preparing a construction program for new bird houses, which will provide another 10,000 metric tons of sellable weight in 2016.
Cherkizovo pork production expanding
Cherkizovo plans to build in the Voronezh region 7 feedlots with a total capacity of more than 35,000 metric tons of marketable pork per year in Voronezh Region in order to expand pork production. Implementing the project will enable Cherkizovo Group to triple pork output at regional facilities to more than 50,000 metric tons live weight per year.
Cherkizovo growing in feed sector
Cherkizovo is already building a feed mill with capacity of 375,000 metric tons per year in the Semiluksky District. Commissioning of the new feed mill will cover the increasing feed requirements of the group’s facilities.
Investment in the community
During the meeting with the governor, Babaev also announced that the company would allocate RUB1 million (US$26,764) to Lisko Municipal area as charitable assistance. The money will be directed to the needs of the Lisko home for the elderly and disabled.

Aviagen parent stock school in Russia has record attendance

The recent Aviagen Parent Stock Management School in Russia attracted a record 60 attendees. Delegates from Russia, Lithuania and Belarus were in attendance.
The weeklong school included a series of theoretical and practical sessions prepared by Aviagen with support of international Aviagen experts from the UK, Croatia and Ukraine.
The aim of the school is to provide a challenging and interesting mix of theory and practical support. At the school, students were asked to tackle a series of tasks including answering assessment questions and resolving hypothetical management issues on the farm as part of a group, then presenting their findings to the rest of the school.
Presentations at Aviagen Parent Stock Management School
Technical Service Manager Roman Stepanov’s presentation about key points of chick placement and the brooding stage allowed delegates to have a mental check of all the small but important details that can affect production parameters in the future.
A series of technical presentations were made by a number of Aviagen technical service managers covering critical points of female management. Kruno Bosilj spoke about female management between brooding and production, while Goran Slunjski discussed female management between peak and the end of production, and Petro Kurechko talked about key male management issues.
The veterinary section of the school was presented by Akos Klausz, company veterinarian, Aviagen Limited, who discussed biosecurity issues. As always, these presentations created a lot of discussion between attendees, as people come from many different regions of a large country where each region has its own specific veterinary issues.
In addition to theory, students enjoyed a practical session of bird assessment which offered a chance to demonstrate their ability to look at and handle live birds to assess their quality. They were then asked to carry out some post-mortems in groups during the veterinary section.
Fun and celebration
To let hard working delegates relax after a day’s teaching, school organizers in the evening offered them an excursion to an old monastery and a trip to the sanctuary for European bison, paintball, soap making sessions and other team-building events.
The school came to a close in an appropriately grand setting, with a gala barbeque dinner on the closing night which included an entertainment programme including singers, magicians and a stunning firework display.
Eduard Taktarov, sales director of Aviagen, said: “We are extremely pleased and proud to have managed organizing a weeklong school for 60 guests with such success. We had a lot of very positive feedback from many delegates.”
Oksana Karpenko, ZAO Agrocomplex, was named best student of the school. She was presented with a mobile phone to reward her achievements. 

Parent stock management lessons learned at Arbor Acres school

The sixth week-long Arbor Acres school for customers from Russia and Kazakhstan recently took place in the Netherlands. The school has become an important annual event in the region as a platform to improve knowledge and share experiences from a wide range of parent stock management backgrounds.
The aim of the school is to provide a mix of theory and practical support. Eight attendees from four companies, stretching from the Black Sea to Siberia, took part in this year’s school, including Agrokomplex, Bashkirsky Broiler, Elinar Broiler and Sayanski Broiler.
Key topics covered were parent stock (PS) management, ventilation and biosecurity. Two full days of training took place at the Barneveld College, supported by practical sessions on ventilation for PS and broilers by Dutch companies PTC+ (Jos Mulder) and Koudijs (Henk Rodenboog). The group also took time to see the theory put into practice at three state-of-the-art broiler farms in the Netherlands.
Dr. Zoltan Marton from the Aviagen Global Veterinary team highlighted the importance of providing birds with the cleanest possible environment for expressing genetic potential. In order to prevent pathogen challenges one must keep in mind biosecurity protocols in every part of the production process.
Craig Morton, Aviagen global product director, talked about research and development using proven techniques, coupled with the latest available technology, with the overall aim of developing products to suit different environments, such as the challenging conditions of the CIS. Dejan Bosanac, Arbor Acres technical service manager, shared management advice with the delegates, focusing on the importance of attention to detail in stockmanship.
Attendee Tatiana Pastuchova commented: “The new perspectives presented here gave us ideas that, hopefully we can turn into practice and reach the results many other Russian Arbor Acres customers have already achieved.”

JSC Tyumen Broiler joins Russian Arbor Acres 400 Club

JSC Tyumen Broiler has joined an elite group of high-performing poultry producers in Russia by becoming the latest member of the Arbor Acres 400 Club. The club, which recognizes those achieving a European production efficiency factor (EPEF) of over 400, was launched by Aviagen in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region in 2013.
Having attained an EPEF score of 424, the JSC Tyumen Broiler team was awarded with a certificate at a special ceremony attended by Tyumen Broiler management, farm workers, Aviagen representatives and local media.
Oksana Velichko, director of JSC Tyumen Broiler, said: “We are constantly improving our level of production to suit market needs. Both the high genetic potential of the Arbor Acres birds and our strict adherence to technical regulations have enabled us to be very competitive.
“We have striven for this success relentlessly for the last three years and our achievements to date are primarily thanks to our fantastic team.”
Tyumen Broiler Production Director Shabaldin Sergey added: “Our primary objective here is to obtain the best possible balance of weight gain and liveability at the lowest cost of feed."
Dejan Bosanac, technical service manager at Aviagen KFT, said: “Congratulations to Tyumen Broiler for achieving such superb performance. We have seen how well the Arbor Acres broiler can perform in Russia and it is important to recognise success when it happens. Now that the 400 Club is growing, we look forward to welcoming other Arbor Acres customers to this exclusive group as time goes on.”

Cherkizovo poultry sales volume up 13 percent in first quarter

Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s leading integrated meat and fodder producer saw a 13 percent increase in sales volume for its Poultry Division during Cherkizovo’s first quarter of the 2014 fiscal year. The Cherkizovo Poultry Division reported 90,506 metric tons of sellable weight for the first quarter of 2014, compared to the 80,370 metric tons sold during the first quarter of fiscal year 2013.
The increase in sales volume includes the 1,651 metric tons of sellable weight produced by Lisko Broiler after it was acquired by Cherkizovo on March 24, near the end of the first quarter.
The average price for poultry for the first quarter increased 1 percent to RUB77.90 (US$2.23) per kilogram, up from RUB76.92 (US$2.53) per kilogram recorded during the first quarter of 2013. Taking into account the weakening of the ruble against the U.S. dollar, the average price for poultry in dollar terms decreased by 12 percent.

Lisko purchase makes Cherkizovo Russia's largest broiler producer

Cherkizovo Group, Russia's largest meat and feed producer, has acquired Lisko Broiler, a poultry producer in the Veronezh region of Southern Russia. The purchase makes Cherkizovo the country's largest poultry producer, with production capacity exceeding 500,000 metric tons live weight annually.
Lisko Broiler is Veronezh's largest poultry producer and one of the market leaders in the Central and Southern Federal Districts. According to Russian Poultry Union data, Lisko ranks seventh among Russia's top poultry producers with a 2 percent market share. Its annual production capacity is approximately 95,000 metric tons live weight.
The 5 billion ruble (US$146 million) purchase brings Cherkizovo seven poultry production facilities, four parent flock sites with a slaughterhouse facility of 4,000 birds per hour, two breeder stock sites, a slaughtering complex with capacity for 9,000 head per hour, a hatchery with a capacity for 80 million eggs each year, a feed mill with a 40-tons-per-hour capacity, grain storage facilities with total storage capacity of 100,000 metric tons, meat and bone meal production facility, and a rendering facility.
"We have made a major step towards market leadership, which is in line with our long-term strategy of combining organic growth with mergers and acquisitions," said Cherkizovo CEO Sergei Mikhailov. "Acquisition of Lisko not only gives us strategic advantages, such as increasing the scale of our business and access to southern Russian markets, including a synergy effect that we will feel even in the first year of integration.
"Lisko's facilities are located in the Voronezh region, where Cherkizovo has a land bank, and this gives us an opportunity to build a vertical integration chain. Leveraging on Cherkizovo's distribution capabilities will help to increase market access for Lisko's product and save on logistics."

GAP Resource Company finds Ross a tailor-made fit

GAP Resource Company employees celebrate becoming the first member of the Ross 140 Club in Asia.
The success of the Ross 308 parent stock in Russia has led to the creation of a club to celebrate the bird's performance at breeder level. This Ross 140 Club goes hand-in-hand with the Ross 400 Club which recognizes outstanding performance at broiler level. The Russian Ross 140 Club, set up by Aviagen, has already welcomed its inaugural member, GAP Resource Company, based in the southern region of Russia, near Krasnodar and Stavropol.
The Ross 140 Club credits local farmers who have achieved a performance of more than 140 chicks per female hen housed. This target has been set according to local conditions including climate and nutrition.
The general rules of joining the Russian Ross 140 club are as follows:
• The assessment is made of Parent Stock (PS) birds which are from the same delivery and all the birds should be of the same age.
• The age for evaluating the amount of chicks per hen housed should not be more than 64 weeks (approximately 40 weeks).
As part of the judging process, Aviagen representatives visited farms in Mineralnye Vody and Yuzhny Filial, the second being a Team 7 subsidiary firm of GAP Resource. Both had achieved the established levels of performance under the expert eye of GAP Resource's Head PS Technologist, Pavel Nikolayevich Ivanenko.
Eduard Taktarov, Aviagen sales director, said: "It is a big honor for me to present the first Ross 140 Club certificate in Russia to the GAP Resource Company. Our companies have enjoyed a long history of partnership and we know each other very well. I would like to thank the directors and staff for their wonderful hospitality - the Caucasus met its guests with its incredible spring weather and lots of snow, which was immediately melted down by the hearty welcome of the farm staff. I wish the GAP Resource management even greater success and higher results in the future."
An award ceremony took place at Team 7's facility, where Taktarov congratulated all the farm staff for their efforts in achieving this result. 
Eduard added: "The work done by Vitaly Kiriakov, technologist of the Vostok department, Artur Klychev, team leader of the site, Alyona Ubogova, management assistant, and Aik Mkrtchyan, veterinarian, is second to none. It was the excellent diligence of the staff that helped to achieve such a high result, which is especially difficult with manual nests, requiring special persistence."
The results were as follows:
• Number of females at point of lay - 53,900
• Age at depletion (weeks) - 63
• Hatching eggs hen housed - 176.3
• Livability percent (laying period) - 90.1
• Chicks/female hen housed - 140.1
Pavel Ivanenko commented: "In general, within the sites of GAP Resource the Ross 308 birds show constant improvement - our last performance indices were 134.9 and 136.3 chicks per female hen housed. However, in late 2013 we achieved our best level so far - 140.1 chicks per female hen housed. We are very glad to become a member of the Aviagen Ross 140 Club as we are always striving for better results."

Russian broiler producers aim to improve breeder performance

Farm managers from the Russian broiler producer Chelny were given an insight on a visit to Sweden into how the Cobb-Vantress Scandinavian distributor Blenta achieves some of the top breeder results in Europe. The visitors from the Tartastan region - already averaging 136 chicks per breeder - were eager to learn more to improve further the performance of their flocks under similar climatic conditions to Sweden.
"Looking at the genetic potential of Cobb500 we've seen here in Sweden, this will stimulate us to strive for better results," said Timur Khusnullin, Chelny breeder farms manager.  "Being one of the best breeder farms in Russia does not mean we can't improve going forward."
"Blenta has very good production numbers in breeder flocks, peaking at more than 95 percent," said Patrick van Trijp, Cobb account manager for Russia.  "Showing the hatchery, rearing and production farms gave the young managers of Chelny Broiler an excellent understanding where and how to improve.
"I'm very proud on the way Chelny has progressed, starting with breeders from scratch just four years ago.  They've shown that working with the Cobb500 it's not difficult to achieve and maintain good results. Together with the help of our technical manager Irina Khamatshina, they've managed to become one of the top three in Russia in terms of production and hatchability."
Blenta also benefited from the visit. Torbjörn Persson, general manager of Blenta, stated: "We found the remarks and questions from this group, and their analysis very beneficial. Looking at our organization from a different angle is always refreshing and helpful."

HatchTech at the heart of new Russian poultry integration

Russian-based European Biological Technologies has placed a multi-million Euro order for constructing HatchTech, HatchBrood and HatchTraveller at their new poultry integration, which will be realized in the Samara Province. At the corporate offices of HatchTech in the Netherlands, representatives of both companies signed a contract for the delivery of a brand new hatchery, including a brooding facility and chick transport vehicles.
Russian market applies one concept for all stages
HatchTech will supply HatchTech MicroClimer setters and hatchers, all amenities such as a HatchTech ventilation system, a HatchTech water management system, heat recovery system, and the hatchery management system. The hatchery has a capacity to produce 840,000 day-old chicks per week. After hatch, all chicks are transferred to the brooding facility, equipped with 16 HatchBrood units, in which the young chicks will stay for 3- 4 days. Subsequently, the birds will be transported to the broiler farms, by making use of two HatchTraveller's, holding 86,400 day-old chicks each. By incorporating the HatchTech-HatchBrood-HatchTraveller into the new integration, the "one concept for all stages" philosophy has been fully applied.
Excellent solution for Russian poultry farming
During the first four days of their lives, chicks are unable to regulate their own body temperature. Their proper growth and development therefore depends on the climate that poultry farmers create for them. Achieving the perfect combination of air and floor temperatures, air velocity and humidity levels that lead to superior chick quality can be quite difficult; especially in the extreme Russian climate.
Joost ter Heerdt, HatchTech commercial director, stated: "Realizing this excellent project in Samara fulfills us with pride and happiness. HatchTech has been active in the Russian industry for many years. It is very rewarding to see that today our complete product portfolio is being accepted by respected companies such as European Biological Technologies LLC. Together with our team of HatchTech Russ LLC, we are looking forward to a successful project realization."

ISA and Sverdlovsky form strategic partnership

Alexey Grachev, left, director and co-owner of BPR Sverdlovsky, and Antoon van den Berg, CEO of Hendrix Genetics, sign an agreement for a strategic partnership between the two companies.
ISA, the layer division of global multi-species breeding company Hendrix Genetics, and Russian poultry breeder BPR (Breeding Poultry Reproductor) Sverdlovsky, have entered into a strategic partnership. The collaboration encompasses a substantial capital commitment by ISA that will enable BPR Sverdlovsky to consolidate and grow its business further. The agreement will also allow ISA to acquire the largest minority share in BPR Sverdlovsky, next to founders Alexey Grachev and Viktor Ivashkin.
Based in the area of Yekaterinburg, Russia, BPR Sverdlovsky produces and markets Hisex Brown and Hisex White layer parent stock and commercial layers for the Russian market and most of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Successful cooperation between Sverdlovsky and ISA (Institut de Sélection Animale) began three years ago.
"The quality of the Hisex layers, combined with local production at a strategically important location in Russia, and our strong relations with egg producers in CIS countries, have enabled us to become the largest supplier of egg layer breeding stock in the CIS market," remarked Alexey Grachev, director of BPR Sverdlovsky. "We are pleased to welcome ISA as our strategic partner".
"We view Russia as a strategic important market for all species Hendrix Genetics breeds and layers in particular," added Antoon van den Berg, CEO of Hendrix Genetics. "Our investment in BPR Sverdlovsky will create the possibility to further invest in facilities, people, quality and service, which will lead to better performance and increasing value for Sverdlovsky's customers."

Cherkizovo Group, Grupo Fuertes secure financing for new turkey plant in Russia

Cherkizovo Group, one of Russia's leading food manufacturers, and Grupo Fuertes, a leading Spanish producer of turkey meat, has plans for a new turkey meat processing and production plant in Russia's Tambov region. Financing for the project has been approved, with an arrangement made with Sberbank CIB.
The total amount of investment in the Tambov Turkey project is RUB7.5 billion (US$210 million), with over RUB3 billion (US$84 million) jointly provided by Grupo Fuertes and Cherkizovo Group. The output of the project is estimated at 40,000 metric tons of turkey meat per year. The launch date of the plant is 2015.
Tambov Turkey is a landmark project because it involves Grupo Fuertes, a leading European producer of turkey meat that possesses many years of experience in creating similar high-tech production facilities. The significant investment in this project is a testament to the development prospects of the Russian turkey meat market on the whole and foreign investors' interest in high-tech Russian agriculture industry projects. This project to construct facilities for processing and producing turkey meat in the Tambov region will help increase the volume of production of high-quality, nutritious poultry and make it more accessible to the Russian population.
Sergei Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group, commented: "This is Cherkizovo Group's first international project which is being implemented in partnership with one of the leaders of the European poultry market. We are certain that the unique combination of European turkey farming experience and our Russian market experience - Cherkizovo Group owns the country's largest and most successful frozen poultry brands such as Petelinka, Kurinoe Tsarstvo and Mosselprom - will enable us to execute our Tambov region project on time and go on to occupy a leading position on the dynamically growing Russian turkey meat market. Cooperation with a reliable financial partner is essential if we want accomplish these goals. We are glad that Sberbank, with whom we have already carried out several successful projects, is that partner."
Kirill Polishkin, acting head of the Client Management Department at Sberbank CIB, said the following about the deal: "We highly value our long and productive partnership with Cherkizovo Group. This project is being implemented according to the principles of project financing. It combines the in-depth expertise possessed by international producer Grupo Fuertes, Cherkizovo Group's strong position on the Russian meat market and Sberbank of Russia's experience in financing long-term agriculture industry projects. We are certain of the success of Tambov Turkey and intend to continue working on large, ambitious projects with our partners."