US agribusiness firm Cargill has opened a $40m chicken processing facility at its complex in Efremov, Russia, marking the company's first primary chicken processing operations in Russia.
The facility will primarily supply McDonald's restaurants in Russia with Chicken McNuggets as well as other chicken products.
Cargill Meats Europe general manager Jeremy Graves said that Cargill has had a strong business relationship with McDonald's for many years and the company is pleased to be able to work together with McDonald's in Russia and help it source the products locally.
"Our processing plant and our joint efforts to build a sustainable local supply chain is yet another example of the ongoing collaboration between our two companies," Graves added.
As part of this investment, Cargill has initiated local supply partnerships with Russian poultry rearers in order to ensure that the locally sourced chicken meets Cargill and McDonald's food safety and welfare requirements.
The facility, which employs more than 140 people, has the capacity to produce 18,000 tons per annum of further processing chicken products and will complement Cargill's existing businesses in Efremov.
