Russia, Moscow, VDNH,
agrofarm@vdnh.ruOtrada Group of Companies, a participant in the AGROFARM 2020 Exhibition, is one of the three leaders in the field of breeding pig production in Russia. The company’s activities cover the entire production cycle of high-quality pork, ranging from cultivation and processing of grain, breeding of livestock to the finished products supply through the chain of retail meat stores Moyalino. Joseph Varennes, Managing Director of Otrada Group of Companies talked about the success the company achieved this year, about how it develops export deliveries.
- Otrada Group today is one of the leaders in the production of breeding pigs in Russia. Would you tell us about how the company turned from a small farm into a vertically integrated pig-breeding company – technologies, professional team, the right strategy?
- In 2005, we really started by buying a half-ruined farm and proceeding with its revival using the most modern European technologies. We studied international best practices in the industry development, made note of the best. We have chosen for ourselves the Danish breeding program, which is rightfully considered the most effective in the world. For Denmark, more than 35 live-born piglets per breeding sow per year is not the limit. We set the same tasks for our breeding reproducers. Yes, the production of breeding animals is much more complicated than the production of slaughter pigs. However, with the right approach, it provides a higher margin than slaughter pig breeding. We understood this; therefore, we chose production and sale of the breeding animals as the key area of our business.
We have seen and continue to see success in adhering to strategically important aspects: the right genetics, animal health status, high-quality forage base, innovation and effective management. An important role was also played by the decision to transfer to vertical integration. The real prospects for the production efficiency increase were obvious to us. This made it possible to reduce the business dependence on suppliers and increase control at each stage of production. We control the production of feed and the quality of the grain that we grow on our own crop-growing sites; we ensure that the strictest safety rules are observed at our own slaughterhouses, we introduce advanced technologies for the traceability of our product. And it is extremely important for us that each employee of the company helps to promote the company in the same direction, which allows us to achieve the strategic goals.
- Joseph, how justified is the strategy that you chose – to accompany the deal for the sale of pedigree animals with technical support? What does this give you and your partners?
Otrada provides services in the management and operational activities of the farms that meet international standards. And service support, in our opinion, is the fastest pay back investment that can only be imagined when working with any genetics.
When a client acquiring the genetics cannot achieve the desired results, this is often not a genetics problem. It is important to train your partner, give him or her all your expertise. With the technical support of Otrada, our partners achieve the high production performance. We openly share all our know-how with our partners, thereby revealing the potential of our breeding animals to 100%. We help them optimize their manufacturing processes. For example, Danish genetics is characterized by multiple fertility, and when 18 piglets are born, this is a challenge for the manager. Therefore, the goal of Otrada is not just to sale the breeding animals to its customers, but to ensure that each client achieves the first-class results with the animals that we supply him or her.
When partners achieve with our support the goals that they set for themselves, this is our common victory. We are proactive and position ourselves as the partner whom you can trust both now and in the future. So we can safely say that this cooperation strategy is justified and mutually beneficial.
- Otrada is actively developing the export sales. What progress has been made in this direction over the year?
Indeed, we are actively developing the export sales of breeding animals.
For example, in 2019, we already completed successful deliveries to Georgia in the amount of 700 pig stock – and this is just the beginning, as we have further contracted shipments and future prospects.
We believe that countries such as Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, have great potential in terms of the further development of pig breeding both for their own needs and for the export of meat products. This entails a demand for highly productive genetics, and we are the company that can provide these markets with high-quality breeding animals within the shortest possible time.
We are used to working according to the highest standards, and therefore all of the Otrada production sites have already successfully passed the certification required to carry out this export activity.