Ogun State, Nigeria’s top investment destination, is set to reap huge benefits as the largest protein producer in the world, JBS of Brazil, has indicated interest in investing $2.5bn in the livestock subsector of the Nigerian economy.
The controlling shareholder of the company, Wesley Batista, gave this indication when officials of his firm, led by the controlling shareholder of EMN, John Coumantaros, visited the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on Sunday.
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Mr. Batista, who described Nigeria as the hub of Africa with the largest population, noted the enormous potentials that exist in the country in terms of human and natural resources, and said they were ready to bring their knowledge and expertise in the area of livestock to bear in the nation’s economy.
He said: “We have been talking and learning about Nigeria. We had the privilege to meet the Nigerian delegation in Brazil when President Bola Tinubu visited our country. We see Nigeria as the hub of Africa with a very large population.
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“Though it is our first time in Nigeria, we feel that we have a lot of similarities between Brazil and Nigeria. We have a very good impression so far about Nigeria and Nigerians.
“We are serious about coming to Nigeria to invest in beef, pork, chicken, among others. We see growth prospects in Nigeria and what Nigerian leaders are doing in encouraging investors to come and make significant investments here. We can bring our knowledge and expertise to bear in Nigeria’s economy.”
Giving a brief background of the company, Mr Batista disclosed that his company started in 1953 with slaughtering one cow per day and grew to 600 heads of cattle in one beef plant per day in 1957, becoming the largest beef player in Brazil in the 1990s.
“In the beginning of 2000, we started looking for opportunities to go beyond Brazil, and in 2005, we started in Argentina, and in 2007, we went to the United States and Australia. JBS is our biggest business under our holding company,” he added.
Mr Batista said the organization currently has a revenue of about $75bn and 280,000 direct members who operate hundreds of facilities across Brazil, the USA, Mexico, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France, among others.
According to the Controlling Shareholder, the company processes 80,000 herds of cattle, 15 million chickens, about 25,000 herds of lamb per day, and also produces packaged products like sausages and bacon, while it also holds interests in other sectors like energy, the paper-producing industry, banking and finance, as well as soap and toiletries.
Giving a brief about Ogun State in an address titled, “Unlocking the Future of Livestock Processing and Other Opportunities,” Governor Abiodun said the state, with more than 16,000 square kilometers, offers an ideal location for investments as it provides unique connections to the 17 southern states as well as the northern parts of the country.
“We have provided, in terms of infrastructure, 1,000 kilometers of highways and the best-constructed airport in Nigeria, specially dedicated to agro imports and exports.
“We are number one in non-oil, as two-thirds of the state sits on limestone. Our state is the third-largest producer of cement in Africa, trailing behind Morocco, which is second, and Egypt, which is first.
“The state also has gold, silica, bitumen, and others which are too numerous to mention. We have gas reticulation more than any other state. There are two major gas pipelines that crisscross our state,” he stated.
Governor Abiodun noted that Ogun is going into power generation and distribution, assuring that industries and companies that operate in the State would have access to the cheapest power supply in the country.
On the acquisition of land, the governor said it has been made seamless as land title documents would be made ready within 30 days, assuring that his administration has invested significantly in security to guarantee the safety of lives and properties of those who live and work in the State.
While assuring that his administration would collaborate with the government of President Bola Tinubu to ensure food sufficiency and security, Governor Abiodun said efforts would be made to reduce food scarcity and inflation in the state and country.
He lauded the company for rising from humble beginnings to become the largest protein producer in the world, saying his administration is looking forward to seeing the company establish itself in the State.
The leader of the delegation, John Coumantaros, in his remarks, applauded the governor for opening up Ogun in the area of infrastructure, which he noted has pushed up investments and brought more development to the State.
He said President Tinubu’s administration has set forth on changing the macro conditions of the country where everything works properly by embarking on the development of infrastructure corridors from East to West and North to South, adding that the JBS group was in the State to assess its viability for investment.
“Tinubu has made it possible to attract investors like this, and Governor Abiodun is here to make the program possible because protein is critical for the growth of Nigeria, building modern slaughterhouses, establishing piggery and poultry farms, and going back to see how we can produce maize and soya beans of good yields and its value chain from farm to customers, making the ecosystem beneficial to the growth of the country and the entire Gross Domestic Product,” he noted.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi, on her part, said the meeting is a follow-up to the technical team sent by the company to assess the potentials of Ogun State for investment, adding that the company is ready to invest $2.5bn in the next five years in livestock, and Ogun State would be one of the States to benefit.
