JBS buys Aussie pork processor Rivalea

The deal gives JBS control of three of the four export pork abattoirs in southern Australia.

It has bought 100 per cent of Rivalea Holdings Pty Ltd and 100 per cent of Oxdale Dairy Enterprise Pty Ltd (together Rivalea) from Singapore-listed food company QAF Limited for $175 million.

Rivalea Holdings owns two subsidiaries incorporated in Australia, namely Rivalea (Australia) Pty Ltd and is a majority shareholder in Diamond Valley Pork Pty Ltd (DVP).

Smaller pork producers said the deal could make it harder for them to get their livestock processed at the Diamond Valley Pork plant.

Small-scale pig producers like Tammi Jonas, a member of the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, are concerned about industry consolidation.

“We’ve had a reduction in the number of owners of slaughter facilities in this country that’s been going on for decades,” she said.

“So further consolidation into one multinational corporation is not good news for those of us who are small scale.”