April 24, 2006

Suguna Poultry goes for broad-based expansion
 

Suguna Poultry Farms, a leading poultry company in India, is investing Rs 80 crore (US$17.7 million) in 4 new plants across the country at a time when the poultry industry is beleaguered by financial problems resulting from bird flu.

The company is making the move expecting increased demand for processed chicken, managing director B Soundararajan, announced to the media on Thursday (Apr 20).

Some of the company's plants will have an operational capacity of 40,000 tonnes per month. Once the plants are operational, the company plans to bring in value-added products both into domestic as well the export markets.

Demand for dressed chicken is expected to climb with the government's move towards an eventual ban on live birds' sale in the country. Bird flu worries has also caused countries such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan to import dressed chicken instead of live ones.

The additional facilities are also in line with Suguna Poultry's planned entry into the layer business next year.

Suguna Poutry has an integrated poultry farming model which has left its farm largely intact through the bird flu crisis. Its 11,000 bio-secured farms churns out 920,000 eggs a week.

The company claims a 20 percent share in the Indian poultry market and aims to have a market turnover of Rs 3,000 crore (US$665 million) by 2010 from its present turnover of Rs 1,100 crore (US$244 million) for FY 2005-06.

The company said it has established itself in the south, east, and western regions and has now set its sights on the northern Indian market.

The company is also intensifying branding efforts in the Middle East market, which accounted for 7 percent of the company's turnover last year.  At the same time, it is also hoping to expand its European and Japanese markets in the next six months.