December 7, 2007

 

Thailand's Betagro Group to establish wholesale meat shops

 

 

Thai meat producer Betagro Group will set up wholesale shops to encourage small vendors to sell quality fresh meat nationwide, according to Thai daily The Nation.

 

Nopporn Vayuchote, the company's executive vice president for business development, said at least 50 wholesale shops would be established for fresh meat markets next year.

 

Fresh meat is being sold mostly by small vendors.

 

By not entering retail, Nopporn said the company is avoiding competition with customers, but instead offer good quality meat in exchange. The shops, he said, would provide not only standard pork, but also premium products.

 

He declined to disclose the amount of the investment, saying it had not been finalised.

 

The plan is part of the group's brand-building activities for its high-quality meats, both pork and chicken.

 

Betagro said its pork and chicken were bred on high-standard farms and that the pork in particular was antibiotic-free, non-beta-agonist and free of parasites and pathogenic micro-organisms.

 

The group on Tuesday launched a state-of-the-art electronic traceability system that allows consumers to check all of the information about its S-Pure pork and chicken brand at sales points in leading Bangkok supermarkets.

 

The system will allow consumers to access information about the animal through our data centre, said Nopporn.

 

In addition, the group plans to set up an electronic system that allows consumers to trace information back to the farm.

 

At its initial stages, Nopporn said the system requires a high investment as it should be linked with the company's data-centre network to farms.

 

Nopporn said the plan was aimed at ensuring that consumers always had high-quality meats and could check through to the origin, in case of problems.