December 5, 2007

Indonesia's Charoen: Soymeal 2008 imports up

Indonesian agro and aqua-culture firm, PT Charoen Pokphand, estimates soymeal imports to rise to 800,000 tonnes in 2008 due to high poultry demand.

Thomas Effendy, Charoen's vice president, said the company would import 700,000 tonnes of soymeal this year with prices ranging between US$430-US$450 a tonne mostly from the US and Latin America.

The planned increase in soymeal imports is in line with the company's move to expand its poultry business as demand is projected to rise.

Charoen Pokphand is one of Indonesia's largest feedmilers, with a production capacity of 4 million tonnes of poultry feed per year. The country's animal feedmillers import all soymeal consumption due to inadequate local supplies.

Poultry is the cheapest source of animal protein for Indonesia's 220 million people -- nearly 90 percent of them are Muslim.

The poultry sector in Indonesia accounts for 80 percent of commercial feed demand.

With improving poultry demand, the company expects its revenue in 2008 to grow by 25 percent.