CRV buys Central Bela Vista and expands activities in Brazil
Valor Econômico
The Belgian-Dutch group CRV, one of the leading cattle genetics company in the world, concluded the purchase of the Brazilian Central Bela Vista, traditional artificial insemination company located in Pardinho (SP) and until then controlled by farmer Jovelino Mineiro. The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but the operation involves the infrastructure of the Brazilian company, except for the property where the headquarters is installed, which will be leased to CRV.
With the deal, the European company expands its operations in Brazil. The company already has an artificial insemination office - CRV Lagoa (1998) - and it also has a semen-sexing laboratory - Sexing Technologies (2009) - both installed in Sertãozinho (SP). The operations of the companies, however, continue independent and the new acquisition will be called CRV Bela Vista. The acquisition places CRV at top of the market, with operations of 3.6 million doses a year and 35% of market share. This way, the group takes over the national leadership in cattle genetics, ahead the Canadian Group Alta Genetics.
In an interview to Valor, Roald van Noort, CEO of the CRV Group, said that investment in Brazil is results from the potential of the country to increase the use of technology in its livestock, both for beef and milk. The expectation of the Executive is that the acquisition of Bela Vista complements the works already performed by CRV Lagoa, one of the largest insemination plants, which last year sold 2.4 million doses. "Brazil is already in the spotlight in the supply of food to the world. That position, which will become even greater in the coming years, will be an even more important supplier of proteins to the world", said Van Noort.
On the verge of completing 11 years, Bela Vista is seen in the market as "the plant of the plants in insemination", because it sells everything it produces. The company works as a provider of services, both for farmers interested in producing the semen and for the very insemination plants. "The expectation is that CRV maintains the work policy created by Bela Vista. The deal will allow the internationalization of the model of work", says Jovelino Mineiro. He remembers last year Bela Vista industrialized 1.2 million doses. "We would not be able to increase the operation of Bela Vista as CRV will do from now on".
The expansion of the businesses of CRV in Brazil follows the very growth of the sector. According to data of the Brazilian Association of Artificial Insemination (Asbia), 10.4 million doses were sold last year, a new record for the country. The volume exceeded in 13.7% the sales of 2009. 9.1 million doses of semen sales were sold. Despite the increased sales in the sector, the rate of artificial insemination in Brazil is still considered very low. "Due to the need of intensifying the raising of cattle in Brazil because of the expansion of agriculture, it is a trend that more and more animals be inseminated. The Brazilian advantage is that there is a market for both beef and milk cattle, unlike what happens in the Netherlands", says Van Noort.