Bega Cheese has announced that it has acquired a 93% stake in Peanut Company of Australia (PCA), the nation’s leading supplier of locally grown peanuts to domestic and overseas customers.
The company’s Executive Chairman Barry Irvin said Bega intends to acquire the remaining 7% stake in PCA through compulsory acquisition.
“PCA is an important part of our strategy of creating a ‘Great Australian Food Company’ which will include a Bega peanut butter with 100% Australian peanuts. This strategy and acquisition will enable us to expand the production of peanuts in Queensland. This means more farmers, larger crops and secure manufacturing jobs in Queensland,” Mr Irvin stated.
He pointed out that the move will complete Bega’s supply chain for its peanut butter from farm to processing infrastructure.
“Bega is following the trend in the world retailing to source locally,” Mr Irvin continued.
“We want our peanut butter and Vegemite to be hyper local as that is what the public want and deserve.”
PCA, whose operations are based in Kingaroy, Gayndah and Tolga, have been Australia’s leading supplier of locally grown peanuts for over 90 years.
The company is involved with all aspects of the peanut processing value-chain from developing new peanut crop varieties to drying and shelling, grading, blanching, sorting, roasting and granulating the final product.
