€132 Million Pea Protein Plant Under Construction in Jelgava
The company ASNS Ingredient is building a pea protein factory in Jelgava, Latvia, with total investment of €132 million. The project is financed by the development finance institution Altum and Rietumu Banka, and full operation is planned for early 2027.
The Latvian company ASNS Ingredient is building a pea protein factory in Jelgava with a planned investment of €132 million. It is one of the largest new private-sector projects in Latvia in many years. The plant will process peas grown in Latvia into ingredients for the food industry, and most of the output is intended for export.
Financing
The project is funded at the same time by Altum, Latvia's development finance institution, which is investing €53.6 million, and by Rietumu Banka, which has issued a €40 million loan. Artūrs Jukšs, a management board member of Rietumu Banka and head of its credit division, says banks want developers to have considered various scenarios: delays, export plans falling through, price drops, or the plant running below full capacity. The company has carried out such a sensitivity analysis. According to the source, involving several financiers lowers perceived risk and allows funding on better terms.
Construction and capacity
Construction began at the start of last year and is nearing completion. All equipment has been delivered and is being installed, with the first tests planned for the summer. The factory is to start full operation in early 2027. Its processing capacity will be 70,000 tonnes of peas a year, yielding pea protein isolate, starch, protein concentrate and fibre. These ingredients are used, for example, in making substitutes for dairy and meat products. Foreign partners have already been identified.
Demand and ownership
Management board member Edgars Ruža stresses that the aim is not just a factory but a centre for plant-based protein production in Latvia. He points to a growing number of people in Europe and elsewhere choosing plant protein over animal protein. In terms of production, Latvia has enough peas, but demand for pea protein in many export markets is unmet.
The company is 51.42% owned by the Latvian agricultural services cooperative Latraps, 48.44% by the German food manufacturer Pfeifer & Langen International, 0.13% by the cooperative Barkavas arodi and 0.01% by the cooperative Durbes grauds.
