Company cites high inventories to justify downsizing
BRF is laying off around 150 people at its poultry plant in Francisco Beltrao, in the Brazilian state of Parana.
According to reports, a union representative said the company cited high inventories to justify the worker dismissals, as BRF adjusts production during a time when feed costs are rising. BRF told Reuters that the production adjustments were part of the company’s annual plan, and were done in coordination with the workers’ union.
Officials from the Brazilian government recently expressed concerns over potential reductions in grain supplies as heavy rainfall stalled the second planting of corn, increasing feed costs for livestock and poultry producers. Brazil is expected to produce about 108 million metric tons of corn this season.
Meanwhile, a recent United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report stated that Brazil’s soybean harvest is expected to exceed the nation’s soybean crop of 2020, but that increase may not be enough to counterbalance ongoing demand and rising prices for corn and soybeans.
John Baize, a market analyst for the U.S. Soybean Export Council, recently said continued market volatility can be expected until harvests are complete and more is known about the grain supplies.
BRF, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, is the second largest poultry company in Brazil and the third largest poultry company in the world. In 2019, the company slaughtered 1.55 billion broilers. The diversified company is also a major producer of turkey and pork. This month, BRF announced that it had reached an agreement with Aleph Farms for the development of cell-based protein products.
As an animal feed producer, BRF, formerly known as Brasil Foods, produced about 10.5 million metric tons of feed during the past year, making it the largest feed company in Brazil and the seventh largest feed company in the world.
BRF operates on an international scale, with its products reaching more than 110 countries.
