He met with ranchers, farmers and businessmen on Thursday to discuss the Marianas Meat Harvesting Corp. which will be located in Lower Base.
This new business undertaking, he said, will improve the local economy and create jobs for local residents.
He said the corporation will have a slaughterhouse for livestock produced by local ranchers for CNMI consumers.
Currently, he said neither the CNMI nor Guam has a U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified slaughterhouse facility.
He said the corporation will seek USDA certification and this will enable local ranchers to export meat products to Guam.
This will also reduce the CNMI’s dependence on exported meat products, he added.
With a certified slaughterhouse on Saipan, he said, locally produced meat products will have higher quality and more buyers.
“A viable livestock industry in CNMI would grow because of the enormous market demand in Guam with the military buildup,” he said.
Businessman Paul Zak said he supports the proposed meat processing plant.
“We’re doing it,” he added.
Based on a 2007 market analysis, Pellegrino said there were 39 ranchers on Saipan with total sales of $277,910.
In 2007, they had 1,395 heads of cattle, 1,312 hogs and 276 goats on Saipan while Guam had112 heads of cattle, 635 hogs and 124 goats.
Based on the market inventory, ranching collapsed because there was no slaughterhouse, he said.
He said the target markets of the corporation are the local residents on island, fresh meat retailers, hotels and restaurants.
They will eventually export meat products to Guam, he added.
In Aug. 2010, he noted that the CNMI imported $1,356,204 worth of beef and beef products and $922,260 worth of pork from Guam.
Pellegrino expects the regulatory agencies to approve the project by next month.
He said the construction of the slaughterhouse will commence by mid-February.
By May, it will be fully operational, he added.
The corporation needs an investment of $600,000 and shares are available for purchase.
For more information, email [email protected].
