Brasil Foods to bring 1,400 jobs to the table at new Kizad factory

The multinational company Brasil Foods (BRF) is set to create 1,400 jobs at its new factory in Kizad, a company official said.
"The region is very young, so the opportunities are huge in our industry," said Patricio Rohner, BRF's Middle East and Africa director. "On top of this the agenda of the governments is to have more young people working, especially women," which will increase per capita incomes in BRF's target demographics.
"A big part of our product line is for kids . and children aged between 0 and 14 account for half of the population in the region."
The new US$160 million facility will produce 70,000 tonnes of frozen food annually when at full capacity.
Mr Rohner said that BRF did not have specific targets for Emirati jobs at the new factory, but would actively seek Emirati graduates.
"We don't have a percentage yet, but we are contacting Emirati universities to hire young, local talent," he said. "We have a lot of positions in administrative areas."
BRF is a market leader in the Arabian Gulf, with a market share of about 40 per cent in frozen food sales. It owns the Sadia brand of frozen food and chicken products.
The Gulf has a vast appetite for frozen food: it consumers 1.8 million tonnes each year. The average UAE resident eats 21 kilograms of frozen food annually, and the UAE accounts for about 4 per cent of BRF's revenue.
Mr Rohner said that BRF was looking at further investments in the Middle East.
"This year we invested more than US$200 million on distribution in UAE, Kuwait and Oman. In the years to come we are going to continue to invest in the value chain and in distribution. We are going to look to getting closer to our partners in other countries - Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan. That means warehousing, sales, merchandising, and distribution."
Africa will be BRF's next target, Mr Rohner said.
"The main focus we will have after consolidating leadership in the GCC is Africa," he said. "Africa will be a very important geography for us in the next cycle of our business."
While BRF aims to purchase intermediate goods from local farms and factories, Mr Rohner said that UAE firms currently do not have the scale needed to supply the company.
Food price inflation has affected BRF, but will not filter through to prices, Mr Rohner said.
The price of food rose by 4 per cent year on year in Abu Dhabi as of last month, and 4.7 per cent in Dubai. But Sadia's frozen chickens are not about to get more expensive, Mr Rohner said.
"In the last two years we didn't suffer as a result of rising food prices. Our main ingredients are grains - world production was good, and there wasn't a weather crisis in any of the main export markets.
"What is increasing is cost of living," Mr Rohner said. "So salaries are increasing, which is increasing our costs. But putting the factory here is helping to compensate from savings in logistics. So we will be able to maintain prices."
When asked about health issues in the UAE, which has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world, Mr Rohner said that his company was benefiting from increased awareness of healthy eating.
"Healthiness is our key agenda in our strategy plans. We have very healthy products in our lines. What we are adding to our healthy products is practicality. Our main agenda is to maintain the line of healthy products, with less sodium and fat.
"Awareness of healthy eating is growing a lot, especially with the level of diabetes in the region, so our market share is growing as people move towards healthier foods," he said. "The problem in the UAE is fast food - chips and chocolate - but we don't have a product portfolio-related to that."
The UAE's frozen-food industry will grow at an annual rate of 6 per cent up to 2018, according to consumer data firm Euromonitor International.
"Frozen processed food will remain more affordable than fresh produce, [so] consumers will still be willing to purchase frozen processed food if lower-fat and organic frozen processed food items are introduced," it said.
"Consumers have become more concerned over their eating habits and are seeking fresher meat, lower-fat chicken and gluten-free products, as well as more vegetables," a Euromonitor report said. "Frozen processed food will remain more affordable than fresh produce, so consumers will still be willing to purchase frozen processed food if lower-fat and organic frozen processed food items are introduced."
abouyamourn@thenational.ae
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