Cargill starts $50m expansion of Thai broiler processor
The expansion of the Nakhon Ratchasima plant will open in early 2018 and create 1,400 new jobs. Cargill will look to source birds from several independent smallholder broiler farms to meet increased demand.
The company said this demand has been ongoing, and put it down to the quality and safety standards it employs.
“Cargill has been in the Thai poultry industry for 25 years and has grown to become the leading exporter of fully-cooked chicken products in the country. I attribute this to our uncompromising approach to food innovation, quality and safety, a talented and efficient local workforce working in a strictly safe environment, and a close partnership with the Thai authorities,” said Hans Kabat, president of Cargill Protein Southeast Asia.
Kabat’s division has been steadily growing thanks to increased consumer appetite for poultry products elsewhere in Asia-Pacific. In May,
it formed a joint-venture with Jollibee Foods Corporation, Asia’s biggest foodservice company, to establish a poultry processing facility in the Philippines, creating 1,000 jobs in the process.
More recently, in September, it formed a joint-venture with leading agri-food business Japfa to produce and supply fully-cooked poultry products in Indonesia.
“These investments strengthen Cargill’s position as a leader in food and agriculture industries in Asia-Pacific, and reinforce our unique abilities to meet the changing food demands in the region,” added Kabat.
