Ukraine-based agrifood company MHP’s growth strategy through increased imports hit a snag during the third quarter of fiscal year 2019, with chicken meat exports seeing a slight drop.
In releasing its quarterly financial report on November 19, MHP noted that its chicken meat exports for the quarter in terms of volume amounted to 79,189 metric tons. One year ago, the company’s chicken meat export volume was 80,361 metric tons.
MHP stated that its export volumes for the quarter were partially held back because certain key markets in the Middle East and northern Africa (MENA) markets have temporarily restricted the import of poultry products from international producers, including MHP. The company expects those restrictions to remain in place “at least into early 2020.”
The company added that it “significantly expanded (its) operations in other markets in the MENA region, increasing volumes through geographic diversification.” MHP also stated that it foresees new opportunities in Asian markets in the future.
Impact of Perutnina Ptuj acquisition
The company’s chicken export volume figures for the third quarter exclude the 4,215 metric tons exported from the company’s Perutnina Ptuj (PP) operations.
MHP, formerly known as Myronivsky Hliboproduct, acquired a majority share of PP in February and finalized the acquisition of the holdings from minority shareholders in September, making it a 100% shareholder.
The PP acquisition helped MHP expand its poultry production volumes for the quarter to 186,555 metric tons, a 24% increase on a year-over-year basis. Production volumes from PP amounted to 24,160 metric tons. For the first nine months of the fiscal year, MHP’s poultry production volume reached 540,133 metric tons, an 18% increase when compared to the first nine months of the 2018 fiscal year.
MHP’s third quarter concluded on September 30.
MHP, according to the Poultry International Top Companies rankings, is the largest poultry producer in the Ukraine, the sixth largest poultry company in Europe and the 23rd largest in the world.