The Minister of Economy Bozhidar Lukarski held a number of meetings with the business circles in the State of Arkansas during his working visit to the USA. At a meeting with the Council of North Arkansas the Executive Director of the Organization Mike Harvey indicated that there was great development of the information products for servicing the trade and logistic activities and the platforms for electronic trade of the companies from the State. According to him there is a great potential, in event of interest on the part of Bulgarian companies, to do joint work in the sector of information technologies and services. The Council is an organization uniting and representing the companies and the business community in the Northern part of the State, amongst which also the leading companies Walmart and Tyson Foods, which separate meetings of the Minister were held with. Further to the trade and logistic activities, the production of meat and foods, the sectors which have marked accelerated development in the last few years were those of the information technologies, the health care and the health services, the transport sector, the energy, Mr. Harvey explained. As a result there is significant growth of the population in the state as well as increase of the number of the young and efficient population.
The Economic Minister also met representatives of the local circles in the State of Arkansas, amongst which US Senators and US Congressmen. Minister Lukarski acquainted them with the economic development of Bulgaria, the present status of the economy and the leading sectors. The common wish for cooperation with Bulgaria, identification of specific interests of companies from the two countries as well as rendering cooperation in support for their realization were confirmed. The former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Beebe, who is at present also a member of the Board of the biggest manufacturer of veal and chicken in the USA Tyson Foods, indicated that the Company will consider the possibilities for internationalization of its activity.
Minister Lukarski met Mr. Todd Menotti, Senior Director International Corporate Affairs in the Head Office of Тyson Foods in Springdale, Arkansas. The Minister acquainted the representative of the Company with the conditions for business in Bulgaria and the advantages at the realization of investments in our country. He emphasized the possibilities Bulgaria provides as a member-state of the EU as well as the proximity and the access to the markets of the Middle East and North Africa, the countries from Central Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Todd Menotti presented before Minister Lukarski the main directions of activities of the Company on the territory of the USA as well as the development of their activities in China and India. The Company shared its intentions for internationalization of its activities. In this connection interest was shown in the provision of detailed information from the Bulgarian part about the investment and tax regime, the access to markets, the conditions for transport and logistics, provision with raw materials and so on.
Tyson Foods Inc. is an American multinational corporation from the food industry. The based in Springdale, Arkansas Company is the third biggest meat processor throughout the world and the biggest world manufacturer of chicken and products with 42 billion US Dollars of annual sales. The Company was incorporated by John W. Tyson in 1935, and its present Chief Executive Officer is Donnie Smith. The Company has personnel of 113 000 persons occupied in over 300 enterprises, 90 of which are in America.
The Company is one of the biggest processors and traders of chicken, veal and pork throughout the world, and it is also the biggest exporter of beef from the USA. Tyson Foods is the second biggest Company for production of foods in the rating Fortune 500, and according to Forbes it is amongst the 100 biggest companies in the United States. About one fifth of the manufactured in the USA chicken, veal and pork (approximately 21% of the production of chicken, 24% of the beef and 17% of the pork) belong to it.