Cargill will invest ‘between €300 million and €500 million’ in Colombia over the next five years, following its buyout of Pollos El Bucanero.
It acquired El Bucanero, one of Colombia’s leading producers of chicken and processed meats products, for an undisclosed sum at the start of the month.
The company said the acquisition ‘marks Cargill’s first introduction of its global protein business into Colombia’ and takes the number of employees across Cargill’s entire global operations to 35,000 – up 5,000 – across approximately 200 sites in 14 countries.
Cargill Central American president Xavier Vargas told Reuters: “Colombia is a very attractive country. It is growing economically, in consumption, especially of chicken. We want to keep growing in animal protein.”
Speaking at the time of the acquisition, Jorge Ivan Duque, who will serve as general manager of Cargill’s Pollos Bucanero business, said: “Cargill is starting a new stage in Colombia, under the Bucanero brand, which is recognised and preferred by millions of customers across the country.
“Just like Cargill, this is a family business. We are confident that this will be a smooth integration and will lead to numerous benefits for our employees, customers and communities.”
El Bucanero will operate as part of Cargill Protein Latin America, which includes businesses in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
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