Brazilian food giant in “advanced” talks to produce chicken in Saudi Arabia

Brazilian food giant, BRF, is currently in advanced talks with multiple parties in Saudi Arabia to produce chicken in the Kingdom, Arabian Business reported, citing the company’s CEO.

“It’s a priority for BRF,” Lorival Luz said. “I would like to see the talks concluded by year-end.”

In January 2019, the firm announced that it planned to restore chicken exports to Saudi Arabia to previous levels after one of its plants lost its certification to export to the Kingdom.

The facility – known as Lejeado – had been exporting around 6,500 tonnes of chicken products to Saudi Arabia each month before the Saudi government significantly reduced the number of Brazilian exports allowed to ship there.

BRF began exporting meat and poultry products to the Middle East in the 1970s. In 2016, the firm consolidated OneFoods, a regional subsidiary. The firm now has five production units in the region, as well as 11 distribution centers and over 6,000 direct employees.