Minerva’s new slaughter market share and ARU’s concerns

The new proposal by Minerva Group to acquire three of its competitor Marfrig’s plants in Uruguay —while later divesting two— would not significantly alter market concentration, aside from the group’s clear dominance with just over one-third of the national slaughter. Based on data from the first half of this year, Marfrig, with its four plants (Colonia, Inaler, La Caballada, and Tacuarembó), accounted for 29% of total slaughter, while its competitor Minerva, also operating four plants (Carrasco, Pul, Canelones, and BPU), reached 24.8%. The Urgal family (Pando and San Jacinto) completed the top three with 16.2%.