May 4, 2006

CPF and Japanese company form joint venture to export pork to Japan
 

Kanchanaburi CP-Yonekyu Co, a 500 million baht (US$5.3 million) joint venture between Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc and Japan's Yonekyu Corporation, announced plans to start exporting processed foods to the Japanese market by the third quarter of this year.

Under the partnership, CPF, the flagship of Thailand's agribusiness conglomerate CP Group, provides the meat, while Japan's Yonekyu provides the processing technology and marketing.

Wanchai Dangulavanich, managing director of CP-Yonekyu Co, said almost all of the 300 tonnes of meat produced at its plant in Chachoengsao would be heading for Japan under the agreement.

The products have yet to receive approval from Japanese authorities from the plant, but the firm is confident of passing the inspection since its pigs were reared under CPF's closed-system weather-controlled plant, designed for high levels of hygiene.

Yonekyu, is a listed Japanese company experienced in processing meat and wholesale, in the Japanese, Chinese and the US markets.

Export to Japan is expected to generate 1 billion baht (US$26.4 million) in sales. This would rise when the business doubles capacity to produce 600 tonnes a month in the next few years.

Sales revenue from CP-Yonekyu would be used to boost CPF's pork business, according to Suphat Sritanatorn, vice-president of marketing at CPF.

He said CPF projected that its swine business would grow by 30 percent this year from the sale of 57,000 tonnes of raw meat. More than 85 percent of the meat would be sold locally.

There is still room for Thailand's pork consumption to rise. According to the company, per capita Thai pork consumption was low, at only 12-13 kg per person per year, compared with about 40 kg in Singapore and Hong Kong.

More varieties of processed meat and ready-to-eat meals with pork would be launched this year to promote local consumption, Suphat said.