Cobb-Vantress, Inc., has received approval from the Overseas Investment Office to proceed with the purchase of land in New Zealand to develop a facility to produce grandparent broiler breeding stock primarily for the Asia-Pacific region.
“This is a major new project for Cobb that takes advantage of the favorable poultry health status that New Zealand enjoys,” said Roy Mutimer, vice president for the Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions. “New Zealand has a lower risk of diseases such as avian influenza, and we intend for it to provide a stable and disease-free point of supply.
“These are indeed exciting times for Cobb. Asia-Pacific is our fastest growing region, and the new facility will play a major role in providing grandparent stock for our distributors there and for our own parent stock production complex in China.”
The new facility will be built at Rotongaro, near Huntly, South Auckland, and represents a $40 million investment by Cobb. The venture will create a least 70 new jobs in the farm and hatchery complex on a 368-acre site.
The New Zealand Land Information service says the export of high-value genetic stock is likely to add some $40 million each year to the country’s overseas sales.
