THE PERUVIAN MARKET POPULATION: 30.8 MILLION EGG CONSUMPTION: 180 LAYERS: 20 MILLION ALMOST 100 % BROWN

With 22 Million DOCs placed in 2014, the Peruvian layer industry is growing at an even faster rate than the country’s economy. In former times, egg producers were competing with the fish industry and only when fish prices were too high, Peruvians tended to consume more eggs. In 2005, egg consumption was at only 110 per person. Due to the impressive economic growth in the last decade, driven mainly but not only, by the mining industry (GDP 5, 8 % growth in 2013, according to the world Bank), egg consumption has been increasing steadily and independent from fish prices.

Peru is a market for middle-sized brown eggs, although lately, white eggs are also demanded by consumers with increasing purchasing power and by foreigners coming to work from countries where white eggs are usually consumed.

In the past, all layer farms had a very simple structure consisting of open houses built with wooden poles, wire, and in some areas where it never rains, not even a hard roof; they used canvas soaked in asphalt or straw. Labour was cheap and available but the booming economy has made it expensive and scarce.

Nowadays, the layer industry is undergoing a rapid modernization process where automation plays a significant role and LOHMANN TIERZUCHT is supporting this process not only with its products, but also with recommendations and advice.

Agropecuaria vallecito introduced Lohmann brown to the country in 1993

At that time, 10 egg producers started a company destinated to deliver Lohmann Brown DOCs only to its shareholders. The breeders were housed in very simple barns on floor management and achieved very good results. In order to improve even those outstanding results, at the end of 1997, the production on floor was abandoned and the breeders were housed in cages from day 1 on and production was continued with males and females in separate cages performing artificial insemination. Indeed, all production parameters were improved as observed in the following chart:



Until today, Vallecito has continuously improved its own results and is selling around 4 Million DOCs every year, only to third parties. Most recently, the vaccination team of Vallecito’s hatchery won the 1st prize for the year 2014. This prize was awarded by Invetsa, the company providing the vaccines and evaluating the efficiency of the vaccination process at all hatcheries in the country.

Reproductoras Roma

Of the 10 original shareholders, only five are still owners of Vallecito and two of them started their own integration process creating Reproductoras Roma sAC, to produce the growing amount of DOCs demanded by their new automatic barns with 100,000- 120,000 layers each. since 2011, this integration is operating in a separate breeding farm fitted with cages and A.I., hatching LB Classic DOCs at their brand new hatchery with single stage machines, only for themselves. we were really astonished when the average production results of the last 3 flocks were presented to us, outperforming those of Vallecito and even our own standards: until 68 weeks of age, 42,51% hatchability and 134!!! DOCs.

Two shareholders of vallecito:

Raúl Velit Fernández and Atilio Giribaldi Mansilla owners of Avivel and Diano Marina.

Avivel: tradition and innovation hand in hand

More than 35 years ago, Raúl Velit Fernández started his activities as egg producer at his small farm santa Anita in Quilmaná, Cañete, with 1,200 layers and 5 employees. In 1998, his son Raúl Velit Madueño founded his own company in the same region, Granjerito Don Antonio sAC and in 2013, both companies merged to create AVIVEL, which they proudly promote as a Peruvian Family Holding today. Currently AVIVEL is fully integrated with 1.5 million layers in production in 4 farms undergoing a rapid automation process, with an own feed mill, a modern packing station worth U$s 2.5 Million and 400 employees. They also produce cages and share the ownership together with DIANO MARINA and another partner of ALIOVO The egg processing plant will start operating in February 2015.

Avivel is the first company to be granted tax exemptions by the Government, after the project to improve the production process through innovation was evaluated by CONCYTEC (National Council for science, Technology and Innovation).

AVIVEL is a good example of a forefront egg producing company where the second generation in charge is as efficient and passionate as the first one.

DIANO MARINA: a good example of modern egg production

In 1955, Atilio Giribaldi Mansilla, the patriarch of the extense Giribaldi family and founder of DIANO MARINA, started his egg producing business with 1,000 layers. In 1970, he bought the Fundo Diano Marina in Chincha establishing the company that not only continued with the expansion of the layer operation, but also since 1992, bets on the development of the agroindustry of this region and started to produce non-traditional products like fruits and vegetables. Nowadays, DIANO MARINA is a huge enterprise co-owner of Reproductoras Roma and Aliovo, with 600,000 layers in production and 230,000 in rearing and housed in own farms, also embarqued in a fast automation process and exporting fresh fruits and vegetables produced in their 300 hectars at the Chincha Valley and 700 hectars at the Nasca Valley.

The management of the different companies is spread among the several young descendants and in-laws of Atilio who is now enjoying life and supervising the whole modernized business. A special chapter deserves the barbecue and dining room of the main farm and family house where visitors and friends are entertained like royalty with excellent dishes of Peruvian cuisine and the best wines from all over the world.

More Lohmann integrators

Other integration which follow the same modernization process, are housing our breeders to produce DOCs for their own farms, but are not allowed to sell the Lohmann products to the market. La Calera, the biggest Peruvian egg producer, with 5 million layers is one of them, breeding Lohmann Brown Lite and a small amount of LsL Lite. Recently, the newest Lohmann customer, Prodmil sAC in Arequipa, housed its first Lohmann Brown Lite breeder flock. Alltogether, these customers have helped us to achieve more than 50 % market share in a market that is extremely exigent regarding egg shell colour and feed efficiency and where the spent hen has an unbelievable value when finished with more than 2,100 g and good feather cover: currently 3.75 U$s.

Dr. Luciano Cousinet