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JBS has announced a BRL 216 million (approx. $37.8 million) investment across four Seara units in Santa Catarina, Brazil, in a move set to generate 278 direct jobs in the state.

Founded in 1956, Seara is a global food brand with a broad portfolio in fresh and frozen meat and poultry. The announcement was made on Tuesday 06 May by JBS president João Campos during an event alongside state governor Jorginho Mello, as part of Santa Catarina’s new industrial incentive programme.

The largest share of the investment, BRL 98 million (approx. $17.1 million) , will go toward expanding the pork processing capacity of the Itapiranga unit by 600 pigs per day. In Bom Retiro, BRL $89 million (approx. $15.6 million) will fund the construction of a new breeding stock farm.

Two poultry processing units will also receive upgrades. In Itaiópolis, BRL 15 million (approx. $2.6 million) will be used to modernise operations and improve the product mix. In Nova Veneza, BRL 14 million (approx. $2.4 million) will be directed at increasing processing speed, boosting capacity by 38,000 birds per day.

Governor Jorginho Mello said: "It is a great pleasure to be here, to be part of the development, job creation and extremely important work. The state of Santa Catarina is already a very important state for Seara 's operations and this project helps us to continue investing even more in the state."