Latvia’s ‘Balticovo’ is considering investing 180 million euros in Vilkaviškis and hopes for government support

“Balticovo”, one of Latvia’s largest poultry farms, run by the Mkhitaryan family, is considering investing around €180 million in poultry farming and a biomethane power station in the Vilkaviškis district, but the location for the investment may be chosen outside Lithuania if the company does not receive state support.

According to Dmitrijus Bušnev, head of “Lit Egg”, a subsidiary in Lithuania of the Austrian holding company “MMG Immobilien” controlled by the Mhitarjan family, , Dmitrijus Bušnev, the company intends to build 12 poultry houses on the site of a former pig farm, each capable of rearing 66,000 birds, as well as a biomethane power plant.

According to him, the investment requires a “green channel” – shorter and simpler bureaucratic procedures – but the process is stalling.

“We are still waiting for the moment when we will know whether this investment will go ahead in Lithuania or not. Perhaps we’ve approached it from the wrong angle – we’ve signed the contract, paid all the money, we have everything, but we’re not moving forward just yet. The choice is between two locations: either in Lithuania or in another country                                                           

“All that remains are the technical details – to agree on them and make it a reality, to adapt that green corridor for agriculture. Agriculture doesn’t have anything like that today,” he said.

According to the head of “Lit Egg”, banks are prepared to provide a loan for the project, but the investment is being held up by bureaucracy.

“It’s very difficult to design and plan any work, (...) it’s impossible to plan the financial side of things because you never know when we’ll have to carry out an environmental impact assessment, or when we’ll have to set up sanitary zone, or when we’ll have planning permission. It could be months, it could be years. This is a major obstacle“,– explained D. Bušnevas.

The planned “Balticovo“ €180 million investment on Monday following a meeting between representatives of the agricultural sector and the Prime Minister, Gytis Kauzonas, head of the Lithuanian Poultry Association, announced.

He stated that he had heard Agriculture Minister Kęstutis Mažeika promise to ensure the investment went ahead, a move reportedly also supported by Mindaugas Sinkevičius. 

Mr Mažeika, for his part, said at the meeting at the Government that this was the first time he had heard of the planned investment and stated that no support measures were planned. According to the minister, the “green corridor” could be adapted for processing, but not for primary production.

„I have no doubt there are expectations on their part, but it probably depends on what kind of support we are talking about. Yesterday was the first time I heard about the company and the scale of the investment,“ – K. Mažeika told BNS on Tuesday.

“The aim is to encourage smaller farms, not the largest ones,” – he added.

The head of “Lit Egg”, for his part, stated that, with government support, the poultry farm in Vilkaviškis would go ahead: “If there is support, including for the green corridor agreement, then I can confidently say that this investment will definitely remain in Lithuania.”

Vilkaviškis Municipality, whose leaders and community representatives visited the “Lit Egg” poultry farm in the Plungė district, announced that the poultry farm is planned for a 47-hectare site on the site of a former pig farm in the Pilviškiai eldership. According to the municipality, this would be one of the largest investments in the district in recent years.

“The visit was organised to get to know the investor better, who is planning to implement one of the largest investment projects in the Vilkaviškis district in recent years. On the site of the former pig farm in the Pilviškiai eldership, covering 47 hectares, plans are in place to develop activities relating to the rearing of laying hens, feed production, biogas and egg sorting. The planned investment amounts to more than 100 million euros, and the project, once implemented, would create new jobs,” the municipality announced.

According to the municipality, during an inspection of the company’s site in the Plungė district and its production processes, environmental aspects important to residents were assessed – no unpleasant odours were detected, despite considerable public concern having been expressed on this matter, and technological solutions were discussed that would ensure efficient and environmentally friendly operations.