Charoen Pokphand Foods to expand overseas business
The company operates in both the livestock (swine, broilers, layers, and ducks) and aquaculture (shrimp and fish) sectors.
The company said that growing demand internationally, especially in the ASEAN market, was the reason for the strategic decision.
CPF currently operates in 16 countries and exports products from Thailand to over 30 countries, covering over four billion of the population around the world.
Its vertically integrated businesses incorporate the manufacturing of animal feed, animal breeding and animal farming; meat processing, the manufacturing of semi-cooked meat and fully-cooked meat; food products and ready meal products, as well as the meat and food retailer and restaurant businesses.
Under its expansion plans, it will focus on an integrated poultry project in Vietnam, worth nearly US$250 million, including feed mill breeding farms and a processing plant. The plant will be completed by the end of 2019 and will export processed chicken to other Asian countries, such as Japan.
Sooksunt Jiumjaiswanglerg, chief executive officer for agro-industrial business and co-president of CPF, confirmed the company would move towards overseas growth.
“CPF’s direction will focus on export sales expansion. The company’s foreign operations are going to shift from mainly domestic consumption to more exports,” he said.
“So far, its production already [goes to] more than 30 countries around the world, and it will expand production to increase export sales. The company believes this strategic decision will help us to reach our target growth.”
He noted that, in the first half of 2018, CPF’s overseas operations showed a profitable performance, especially the Philippines and India.
The outlook in the second half of 2018 is forecast to outperform the first half of this year. The main two contributing factors to encourage business growth were increasing pig prices particularly in Vietnam as well as its aquaculture business in Vietnam, India and Thailand.
