April 1, 2004

 

 

Perdue Farms Consider Building Major Poultry Facility In Philippines

 

Perdue Farms Inc. is reportedly exploring the possibility of opening a major chicken processing facility in the Philippines, which would serve as a launching point for the Salisbury company's products in Asian markets.

 

Philippines Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar Purisima said Perdue is considering the country as a hub for processing 10,000 metric tons of chicken for export primarily to Japan.

 

"Our labor costs are more reasonable than the U.S. In fact, Perdue Farms was telling us that if they do the processing in the U.S. and ship it to Japan, they would not be competitive against Thailand and Brazil," Purisima said.

 

Perdue officials on Wednesday denied that there is a deal in the works.

 

Tita Cherrier, Perdue spokeswoman, said the idea was brought up by a Philippines official and is not something the company is pursuing.

 

"It was an informal one-on-one conversation and the guy went to the media," she said.

 

But whether or not Perdue is planning to extend its operations into the Philippines, U.S. poultry companies are looking for opportunities in growing Asian markets.

 

Though it has always been driven by domestic demand, the U.S. poultry industry is searching for more export opportunities, despite temporary barriers stemming from recent avian influenza outbreaks in Delaware and Maryland, said Toby Moore of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council.

 

To compete with the powerful export-driven chicken industries in Brazil and Thailand, outsourcing of some production operations could increase in the coming years, Moore said. Some corporations have begun opening processing plants in foreign countries to take advantage of cheaper labor, including Tyson Foods and Pilgrim's Pride, which have facilities in Mexico, he said.

 

"More movement to the center of the country where there are fewer people, or offshore -- I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility," Moore said.