Vossko巴西投7.12亿雷亚尔建二厂，欧盟暂停进口致扩产下调5%

Joachim Gerecht Divulgação Vossko do Brasil, a subsidiary of the German company of the same name that produces chicken cuts and portions, operated in the country for more than 20 years with a single plant in Lages, Santa Catarina. For much of that period, it focused on supplying its parent company. But as domestic and foreign demand grew, the company approved a R$712 million investment plan that includes a second plant and the facilities needed for the operation. In the project’s first two phases—planning and construction—Vossko do Brasil will invest R$290 million to modernize its existing plant and build another nearby. The expansion is expected to increase production capacity, currently fully utilized at 23,400 tonnes a year, by 25% to 30% by 2030, Vossko do Brasil CEO Joachim Gerecht told Valor. “The convenience-food market is growing. The [German] owners believe demand for ready-to-eat products will increase. It is a trend,” Gerecht said. “Chicken consumption is also growing rapidly.” The company supplies the foodservice sector and other industries, and Gerecht noted that market conditions will determine how quickly Vossko proceeds with the project. The plan calls for increasing production capacity in Brazil by 130% from its current level, more than doubling it to 53,000 tonnes. “It will depend on the market. New business opportunities may emerge, and implementation could even accelerate. But we always proceed gradually,” he said. Increasing production is not Vossko do Brasil’s only current objective. The company also wants to reduce its dependence on Europe, which buys 77% of its output. Overall, 87% of its Brazilian production is exported. “We had already noticed that the European Union was imposing more requirements. That is why we have been participating in international trade shows. We have been to Japan, Gulfood [in the United Arab Emirates], Chile, Mexico and SIAVS [in Brazil],” Gerecht said. “For the new plant to be viable, it is important not to put all our eggs in one basket.” The European Union’s suspension of Brazilian poultry imports in September because of controls on antimicrobial use was a setback for Vossko. The company now expects imports to resume soon after a European technical mission concluded that Brazil can provide assurances that antimicrobials are not used as growth promoters in poultry farming. According to Gerecht, the company revised its plan to expand production by 5% in 2026 because of the interruption in European purchases. Last year, its revenue totaled R$598 million, up 20% from 2024. “We had a clear path toward producing more, were it not for the delisting,” the CEO said. “We should return to sales of close to 23,000 tonnes if Europe resumes purchases from Brazil between October and November,” he added. Unlike other chicken suppliers, Vossko do Brasil does not operate poultry slaughtering facilities or farms integrated into its production system. It buys slaughtered and deboned chicken from other processors and uses it to prepare portioned products such as cubes, pieces, strips and nuggets, as well as seasoned, cooked, roasted and fried items. Vossko’s founders, a family-owned company based in Ostbevern in western Germany since 1982, decided to open a plant in Brazil in 2003 to circumvent the European Union’s decision to impose higher tariffs on fresh-meat imports than on processed products, Gerecht said. The company subsequently replaced fresh-meat imports with processed products distributed in Europe by its German parent. Over the years, the subsidiary began closing some deals without the parent company’s involvement. It now also exports to the United Kingdom, Canada, Chile and Japan and plans to expand in South America. Brazil’s domestic market has gained importance and now accounts for 13% of production. Worldwide, Vossko serves more than 450 customers in 35 countries. Translation: Todd Harkin