Spanish meat group Campofrio is to close its fresh meat operations in Portugal and order to consolidate all its fresh meat business in Spain. The company said it would, however, keep its processed meat production facilities in Portugal.

Campofrio's Portuguese unit consists of one production facility employing 473 people, and the close of the fresh meat production line will mean the loss of 200 jobs. The fact that the fresh meat market in Portugal is currently in the doldrums also made the decision easier to take, the company said.

The fresh meat units in Spain, Primayor Alimentacion and Omsa Alimentacion, will now be merged into one unit in order to generate greater synergies with a new slaughterhouse which the company is opening in Burgos in the first quarter of 2003.

Campofrio also announced its third quarter results, reporting net profits of €11.22 million, up 6.2 per cent on the previous year. Net sales, however, were down 8.5 per cent to €1.03 billion.