Being built in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the plant will produce chicken nuggets, burgers, pizzas, processed products and marinades.

The laying of the foundation stone ceremony was attended by the Vice President of the Republic, Michel Temer, as well as local authorities and executives.

"This is a milestone in the internationalisation process of the BRF, which will see the [plant start operating in the first half of 2014,” said Claudio Galeazzi, Global CEO of the company.

Currently the Middle East accounts for 32 per cent of BRF’s exports.

In countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain, the Sadia brand, which belongs to the company, is the leading market brand.

The new processing plant is seeing an investment of $120 million from BRF.

Besides being a key growth opportunity for the company, BRF said that the operation in the Middle East is a way to meet local cultures and tastes.

"Understanding trends in food consumption around the world and the peculiarities of each market makes us increasingly prepared to be global and effectively provide products for many different cultures around the world ," said Mr Galeazzi .

"It was a great pleasure to receive such a special group in our facility to track the completion of an important step for the company abroad," he added.