Aviagen Group and Rocio Group recently signed a strategic agreement for a joint venture under which Avicola del Norte (Avinor), a Rocio Group company, will become a subsidiary of Aviagen under the name Aviagen Peru. The new business will help Aviagen realize its vision to further expand its reach in Latin America and maximize value in the Peruvian market.

Aviagen Brazil was established in 2007, and Aviagen Peru will mark Aviagen’s first direct presence in Latin America besides Brazil. With a current and new sales, service and support team, as well as farms, hatcheries and other operations, Aviagen will be able to improve its parent stock production for the Peruvian market and better serve customers in the country.

Aviagen Peru will be based in Lima, Peru, with poultry facilities located in Trujillo, La Libertad. Cesar Muro will remain general manager for Aviagen Peru and will report directly to Ivan Lauandos, president of Aviagen Latin America.

Avinor has been a distributor of Ross products in Peru since 1998, so the two companies have a strong and historic relationship.

“Because Latin America is a key region for Aviagen and highly strategic for the entire poultry industry, the joint venture is an important step for us. The new company will share our vision of providing the region with high-quality broiler breeding stock to produce a healthy and sustainable source of protein – as well as value-added service to help customers get the best performance and profitability,” Aviagen chief executive officer Jan Henriksen explained.

Lauandos said Aviagen has always had a strategic vision of expanding in Latin America, believing the region will continue to increase its chicken production to meet consumption and export needs from the region. “Peru has a strong history in poultry production, with excellent environmental conditions, thus making it a logical/strategic location,” he noted.

Rocio Group chief executive officer Ulises Quevedo added, “We were pioneers in supplying the Peruvian market, and today we further expanded our relationship with Aviagen and Avinor through the new company, Aviagen Peru. Ours is a relationship based on mutual trust and sharing similar values.”