It’s pig business: Alentejo in €100 million deal to China

Portugal’s Alentejo districts of Reguengos and Monsaraz are to sell €100 million of pigs to the Chinese.

The Minister of Agriculture, Capoulas Santos has given the green light for the sale that could result in €200 million of business by 2020.

Exports should begin from December while the pigs will come from three national slaughter houses: Maporal, ICM and Montalva according to the Tribune Alentejo news.

Nuno Correia, director of the Portuguese Associations of Pig Farming believes that the deal will give a fresh boost to the national agricultural and farming sector while further negotiations are already underway with the ACME Group which has business expansion plans.

One of the slaughterhouses involved is one at Regengos de Monsaraz owned by Maporal which will work exclusively with the Chinese market will involve a €6 million investment and create 150 new jobs in an area blighted by desertification and high unemployment.

It is estimated that around 4,000 pigs will be slaughtered per week to begin with rising to 10,000 per week by the end of 2019.