Cobb-Vantress Inc. has received approval from the Overseas Investment Office to proceed with the purchase of land in New Zealand to develop a facility to produce grandparent broiler breeding stock primarily for the Asia-Pacific region. 

“This is a major new project for Cobb that takes advantage of the favorable poultry health status that New Zealand enjoys,” said Roy Mutimer, vice president for the company's Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions. “New Zealand has a lower risk of diseases such as avian influenza, and we intend for it to provide a stable and disease-free point of supply.”

The new facility will be built on a 368-acre site at Rotongaro, near Huntly in South Auckland, New Zealand, and represents a $40 million (U.S.) investment by Cobb that will create at least 70 new jobs in the farm and hatchery complex.

 “These are indeed exciting times for Cobb. Asia-Pacific is our fastest-growing region, and the new facility will play a major role in providing grandparent stock for our distributors there and also for our own parent stock production complex in China,” Mutimer added.

The New Zealand Land Information service said the export of high-value genetic stock is likely to add some $40 million (U.S.) each year to the country’s overseas sales.