Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 3/18/10

Cargill plans to begin construction of a poultry processing plant in the Tula region of Russia this summer, the company confirmed to Meatingplace.

Wendy Garbutt, a spokeswoman for Cargill's corporate affairs division, said the new plant will supply McDonald's and other Russian customers with further processed chicken products.

The plant will have the capacity to produce almost 40 million pounds of product per year, local reports said, citing the regional government as its source. Garbutt said such details have yet to be finalized.

The facility joins a cluster of Cargill properties in the town of Efremov, including a feed mill, corn and sweetener plants, a vegetable oil refinery, a bottling facility and a malt plant.

Construction is expected to begin this summer and the plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2011, Garbutt said.

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