Kosarom, the group operating in the meat industry, will this year register turnover worth more than 30 million euros, five million euros higher as compared to last year, according to the company's communication manager, Marius Toth.
The main company of the group, contributing 40% to the consolidated turnover, is Kosarom Pascani, specialised in pork and beef processing. The group also includes Suinprod Roman, owning a pig farm, and Agricola Targu Frumos.
Agricola Targu Frumos operates four vegetable production farms, with more than 200,000 hectares each, as well as an animal farm with over 1,000 bovines. The group this summer voiced plans to sell the majority stake it owns in Agricola Targu Frumos, in a deal put at that time at more than 1.5 million dollars.
The decision was based on the group's need to focus on its core activities, namely poultry and pork processing and distribution.
The group also comprises Avi Top Iasi, specialised in chicken farms.
In early November, Kosarom management announced it would invest more than seven million euros over the next two years to build up two new slaughterhouses, in Iasi and Pascani, with the possibility of obtaining part of the funds through SAPARD programme. According to Toth, the two units will specialise in pig and poultry.
Kosarom also opened a plant of combined fodder for poultry and pigs in Iasi this year. The charcuterie industry was last year assessed at about 260 million euros, amid production of more than 130,000 tonnes. The main producers are, beside Kosarom, Cris-Tim, Aldis Calarasi, Angst Ro and Tabco-Campofrio.
The official statistics show that 80% of the meat processing plants could be closed by 2007, because they do not meet the sanitary-veterinary conditions imposed by the EU. stelian.negrea@zf.ro
