Sobeys goes local with P.E.I. beef deal

There is going to be more local beef on the shelves of some P.E.I. grocery stores.

Sobeys has set a target of 80 per cent of its beef coming from the Atlantic Beef Products plant in Borden-Carleton, P.E.I. The announcement comes after 18 months of negotiations to make sure the beef plant could handle the capacity and producers could grow their herd to meet demand.

Under the deal the beef plant would go from processing about 450 cattle per week to as many as 700. The size of the Maritime beef herd would grow by 20,000 animals over the next five years.

Last year, more than 90 per cent of the farmers Atlantic Beef Products bought from were on P.E.I.

Atlantic Beef Products started production in 2004 and has never turned a profit, surviving through government assistance. There were signs the business was turning around last year, when it posted record sales.

• Atlantic Beef Products in P.E.I. reports record sales

The beef from the plant will be sold under the Island View Farms brand at 13 Sobeys, Foodland and Co-op stores across the Island.

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