The quest to find uses for a dormant meat-packing plant at Brandon won’t be left on the back burner.
Even though IBG Global Meats of Teulon, Man., is postponing plans to produce kosher and halal meats for export to Middle East and Pacific Rim countries, the company is looking at the United States market.
“In a way we had our feet taken out from under us,” said James Bezan of IBG Global Meats. “We had to take a few steps back and restart.”
Hopes of exporting meats to Japan plummeted when the Asian economy soured. And it’s hard to get a toehold in the Middle East because of competition from subsidized European beef and cheaper, grass-fed beef from Argentina.
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“If there’s a market there, it’s going to take a long time to develop,” Bezan said in reference to the Middle East market.
“We felt that’s an option we can’t jump into right now.”
IBG Global Meats now wants to explore the prospects for shipping large-sized beef carcasses into the U.S. Peter Gall, a Winnipeg food specialist, is studying that potential and expects to have a report ready in two to three months.
The idea could open a niche market for beef from the eastern Prairies, where part of the cattle herd features large cows producing large calves. Cattle could be slaughtered at the Brandon plant, said Bezan, and shipped to American packers for further processing. That could put more money in the pockets of prairie producers who see oversized cattle discounted when they go to market.
The original goal was to slaughter 600 head a day at the Brandon plant.
However, if the idea of slaughtering oversized cattle goes ahead, supply and demand will determine the daily kill. If it looks as though the number of cattle slaughtered will be smaller, IBG Global Meats may look for alternatives to the Brandon plant.
“That’s a big facility,” said Bezan, a cattle producer at Gunton, Man. “If we’re only going to be killing 250 or 200 head a day, we won’t need a facility that size.”
IBG Global Meats has first option to lease the former Burns plant, which went out of production in 1989. The building is owned by Carvell Trading Ltd., an Israeli consortium.
Carvell is putting the finishing touches on its 120-room resort and conference centre at Pinawa, Man. Part of its attention will then shift to the former Burns plant.
“We’re still interested and we’re still going ahead,” said Harvey Davis, who represents Carvell’s interests in Manitoba. “If it doesn’t work with Bezan’s group, we’ll go in another direction.”
Last year, Carvell announced plans for a $20-million retrofit of the meat-packing plant. Davis remains confident the plant will be revived to process beef destined for niche markets.
In a few weeks he’ll have reports from consultants attempting to identify those markets.
