Rumor has it that JBS is negotiating the acquisition of Granja Mantiqueira, the largest egg producer in Brazil with 13.5 million layers and 3 billion eggs per year, and the second largest in Latin America after Proteína Animal in Mexico. Last Sunday, January 14, the Brazilian newspaper O Globo announced the transaction of R$2 billion (approximately US$406 million), specifying that Leandro Pinto, owner and cofounder, would remain as a partner. However, neither part has confirmed this news.
The piece of news has shaken the industry in Brazil and has sparked a lot of discussion and gossip. Maybe because it was unexpected or maybe because eggs have now entered the ring.
Some other media outlets have talked about how Leandro Pinto has been moving away lately from management and business decisions. The CEO is now Marcio Utsch, and Pinto’s son Murilo is the commercial director. What's more, Leandro Pinto has been focusing on other ag businesses such as organic grains. In addition, Utsch has focused on decommodification of the company, developing new lines of products, moving it away from being a regular egg producer to value-added products, such as organic eggs and cage-free eggs, their own egg stores, and e-commerce, among other things.
But what does this mean for the egg industry in Brazil and the rest of Latin America? One of the features of the Latin American egg industry is the fact that egg producers are mainly family-owned companies that are local, that is, they do not belong to multinationals. The other feature is that they market their products domestically. Brazil might be an exception, because they do export eggs, but due to the nature of the product itself, exports are very small compared to chicken.
As far as I can remember, the animal protein business of JBS is focused on meat, so the fact that they are interested in buying an egg company raises eyebrows. Let’s face it, the race is always on for meat – whether it be chicken, pork, beef or even aquatic species. But eggs?
If it happens, this transaction could change the Latin American egg panorama, and who knows, the world too, considering that JBS is a global player.
What do you think?
