Torben Aarris (DanBred): ‘Asia is at the heart of our future strategy’
As Danish pig breeding company DanBred is looking ahead to the future, it is looking towards Asia – and particularly China – to continue to grow. In addition, the company is in the process of hiring more customer service representatives in the future, says Torben Aarris, the company’s CEO.
“I am particularly attracted by the positive market outlook. Globally, the market for breeding pigs is growing, and pork consumption is increasing. I see great growth potential for DanBred, as one of the world’s leading breeding companies.”
“At the top of my agenda is the expansion of genetic progress in our sire and dam breeds. Our customers only benefit from high-performing animals that demonstrate good maternal qualities and consume few resources. My second goal is to become even more efficient by streamlining our European and international sales activities. And the third goal is to convince new pig farmers of DanBred genetics through even greater customer proximity. We will increase the number of service employees.”
We invest this money where we see the greatest opportunities for further breeding progress for the benefit of our farmers
“We invest around 20% of our revenue in research and development. That is almost €30 million per year. We invest this money where we see the greatest opportunities for further breeding progress for the benefit of our farmers. DanBred’s goal is to ensure that our customers can produce 1 kg of pork at the lowest possible price.”
“The exit from the Russian market at the beginning of 2022 cost us a lot of money. We ceased all activities and our local presence. We no longer supply boar semen or breeding sows to Russia. And we no longer support pig farmers with our know-how.
“In the meantime, however, we have achieved an economic turnaround and have recently been able to significantly stabilise our financial results. We closed the 2024 fiscal year with a profit before taxes, depreciation, etc., of €8.2 million.”
We are the only breeding company that exclusively uses Danish genetics for both sire and dam breeds
“We see Asia, and China in particular, as DanBred’s future core markets. Pork consumption will increase there in the future, while it will decline in Western Europe. Therefore, we are currently working on establishing new breeding farms in Asia. In this way, we want to boost local production and reduce transport times. Freight costs, in particular, have literally exploded in recent years.”
“We are the only breeding company that exclusively uses Danish genetics for both sire and dam breeds. Furthermore, we have always relied on a large database and document all our results transparently.
“To this end, we work with around 70 so-called proof points. In these points, we publish, for example, results from production herds or new scientific findings from our breeding lines. Our customers are also permitted to advertise with the “Original DanBred” certificate.”
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