The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, announces the acquisition of two red meat processing facilities in Australia, in a joint venture with (Minerva Foods). The joint venture company (Minerva Foods Australia), in which SALIC owns 35% of the share capital, will operate the acquired facilities with a total production capacity of more than one million head of livestock annually for domestic and export markets.

Sulaiman bin Abdulrahman Al-Rumaih, CEO of SALIC Group, said that the acquisitions complement SALIC’s efforts toward the food security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by investing in sustainable agricultural projects in a diversified geographical areas around the world, and will contribute to the red meat sufficiency as the Kingdom imports more than 70% of its red meat consumption, equivalent to 550,000 tons annually. In addition, the joint venture with Minerva Foods is aligned with SALIC’s expansion plans in Australia after the successful acquisition of Merredin Farms in 2019.

Noting that SALIC owns 31% of the share capital of Minerva Foods, which operates more than 25 slaughterhouses in South America and exports red meat to more than 100 countries around the world, including the Saudi market.