Veal producer Ecolait plans to use a federal loan of up to $2.7 million to upgrade its slaughter plant technology and boost its storage space.
The St-Hyacinthe, Que. company produces up to 12,000 tonnes of meat per year, processing over 100,000 head of milk-fed veal calves raised by over 150 producers.
Ecolait holds market shares of 61 per cent within Quebec and 68 per cent nationally. Half the company’s products are exported, giving the company a “major role” in expanding Canada’s market access, the federal government noted in a release Tuesday.
“This investment will help Ecolait cut its costs considerably and improve its operations, which by extension, will help Quebec producers capture new domestic and international markets,” Jean-Pierre Blackburn, the federal minister of state for agriculture, said in the release.
The federal funds will flow through the government’s $50 million Slaughter Improvement Program. The loan program puts up repayable contributions toward slaughter firms’ upgrades to reduce costs, boost revenues and improve plant operations.
The program covers up to 50 per cent of eligible costs for approved projects, which then must be completed by March 31, 2012.
