Uruguay is “interested” in Allana entering the country, said INAC president

For China, having access to food is a strategic and highly relevant issue, and as their purchasing power continues to grow and they adopt Western habits, they’re willing to buy everything we have to sell. Therefore, we have an enormous available market,” summarized the president of the National Meat Institute (INAC), Gastón Scayola, from the SIAL fair in Shanghai.

Regarding meat export destinations, Scayola explained that there are two types of products: commodities, which go to whichever market pays more—something that will vary constantly, whether it be China, the United States, or Israel—and another type of product for which Chinese demand “will continue to grow due to the sheer size and evolution of its economy.”

On the potential entry of the Allana Group into Uruguay, linked to the sale of Marfrig assets to Minerva, the INAC president said that during the recent fair in Saudi Arabia he had the opportunity to visit Allana’s stand and speak with one of its executives who had traveled to Uruguay. He considered it “very interesting for this company to come to Uruguay, regardless of whether the operation between Minerva and Marfrig moves forward.”

Scayola emphasized that INAC “is interested in Allana coming, as well as other important groups,” independent of the Marfrig–Minerva deal. He added that as INAC president, it’s not his role to have a position on the sale of Marfrig’s assets to Minerva. He stated that the matter will be handled by the Ministry of Economy, and that “it’s perfectly right that it be so.”