December 26, 2009

Major Chinese meatpackers step up on expansion

Henan Shuanghui and Yurun Group, two major meat producers in China, have been cranking up efforts this year to expand their production capacity and enhance their presence in the upstream market.

Yurun broke ground on a pig slaughterhouse with a budget of RMB250 million (US$35.1 million) in the city of Mianzhu, Sichuan Province, on December 22. The slaughterhouse will have a slaughter capacity of 1.5 million pigs per year. This follows after Henan Shuanghui started a similar project with an annual capacity of two million pigs.

Upon completion, Yurun's Mianzhu plant will have a yearly output value of RMB1.5 billion (US$210.5 million), putting it in a much more competitive position.

Henan Shuanghui also embarked on a 50-million-chicken farm on December 23, part of the cooperation with Japan-based Nippon Meat Packers.

Henan Shuanghui chairman Wang Long said Shuanghui and the Japanese company will spend as much as RMB1.72 billion (US$241.3 million) working together on 40 joint projects.