The world’s largest beef processor has moved into aquaculture with the announcement that is has acquired Huon, Australia’s second largest salmon producer in a deal worth $315m (€2.69m).

Huon is a vertically integrated business, controlling each step of the production chain and JBS plans to make aquaculture a new growth platform for its business, according to Global CEO Gilberto Tomazoni.

Huon has developed 13 production sites and three value-added processing locations in its 33-year history with investment of AU$ 350m (€218.7m) over the past five years.

The business services the Australian market with 15% of its output exported. JBS has identified further potential here, referring to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) projection that global consumption of fish will increase by 5% with growth in China forecast to increase by 15% by 2030.

This is the second major acquisition by JBS in Australia this year, having bought Australia’s largest pigmeat business, Rivalea, producing over a quarter of Australia’s pigmeat.

JBS was already Australia’s largest meat and food processing company and these latest acquisitions consolidate its position in the Australian market as well as being a springboard for supplying customers throughout Asia.