Meat processor JBS is channelling investment into its Huon Aquaculture salmon-farming business in Australia.
The Brazil-headquartered company said it will plough A$110m ($73.6m) into Huon’s land-based Whale Point farm in Tasmania.
JBS said the funds will used to build a salmon hatchery capable of rearing seven million fish. Work is expected to begin next year with a target completion date sometime in 2027.
Huon was acquired by JBS in 2021, marking the meat giant’s entry into seafood. The company, headquartered in Hobart, Tasmania, is the second-largest salmon farming business in Australia.
JBS added the Whale Point project will enable Huon to farm salmon for longer in tanks, giving the fish more time to mature before being released into sea-based pens. The site, the company’s first hatchery, was opened in 2019.
Henrique Batista, the CEO of Huon, said in a statement 150 jobs will be created during the construction phase. The business employs 1,000 staff in Australia.
“Salmon will spend most of its production cycle on land thanks to the strengthening of our installed capacity,” Batista said. “The investment also increases the water reuse rate at the unit, which now reaches 99%.”
The project has been in the pipeline since May, when Huon said eight permanent jobs would be created, as well as the construction phase positions.
Batista added that waste from the Whale Point site is also processed and treated and then used as fertiliser by local cherry farmers and also in pet food.
Founded in 1986, Huon farmed salmon are processed for sale in retail, with an assortment such as fresh Atlantic salmon, smoked salmon, caviar and pâté.
When JBS completed the deal in 2021 after a drawn out process with Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board, local courts and Huon’s shareholders, the company was operating 13 production sites and three product processing facilities in Australia.
During the deal process, JBS said Huon had invested more than A$350m over a five-year period in infrastructure and sustainable practices in the salmon production cycle, “positioning the company for sustainable growth”.
In the 2023 fiscal year, JBS generated $73bn in revenue, an increase of 0.4% on the prior 12 months. Adjusted EBITDA fell 49% to $3.5bn, while the group delivered a $199m loss versus a $3bn profit a year earlier.
For the Australia division, which also includes beef and pork processing, revenue dropped 1.8% to $6.2bn, with adjusted EBITDA up 2.4% at $454.7m. A net figure was not provided.
