COVAP continues to grow with a 2% increase in billing.

The Cooperativa Ganadera del Valle de los Pedroches (COVAP) recorded a turnover of €413 million in 2016, a 2% increase over the previous year. In terms of each business area, 50% of the turnover is accounted for by dairy products, 30% by animal feed and the remaining 20% by meat products. Sales by volume also grew 7%, rising to 860,000 tons.

In 2016, COVAP increased their investments, dedicating €8.8 million to improve efficiency and productivity. All this, together with the Cooperative’s integrated model, has allowed them to easily face the major difficulties that dairy farmers have experienced throughout this year across Europe.

COVAP has again sought to strengthen the area of human resources, creating a total of 60 new jobs in 2016, which has allowed it to close the year with an average workforce of 663 people.

Among the milestones achieved by COVAP in 2016, it is worth highlighting the foundation of the company Lactia Agroalimentaria, in partnership with the Lleters de Catalunya Cooperative. This new project, which began last October and which capitalizes on the synergies of both cooperative models, supplies milk to Mercadona supermarkets in Catalonia, more than 60 million liters of “Hacendado” brand milk a year. In addition, COVAP has increased its participation in “Lactiber León” to 50%, along with Iparlat, following Dafsa's decision to divest from that company.

According to the Chairman of the Cooperative, Ricardo Delgado Vizcaíno, "these results are the outcome of the joint effort and teamwork of both partners and workers over these twelve months." The Chairman also repeated the need to continue promoting food safety and quality, COVAP’s differentiating values, for which they will maintain their commitment to efficiency for each of the processes, from livestock production to industry, with the objective of providing its customers with safe, healthy and reasonably priced food.