March 22, 2007

CPF ventures into Philippines with its shrimp fry business

Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) has announced plans to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in the Philippines to operate agro-industrial businesses involving livestock and aquaculture with its first business there producing shrimp fry. 

CPF will set up CPF Philippines Corporation with initial registered capital of 50 million Philippine pesos, or 37 million baht (US$1.03 million), by the second quarter of this year, according to president and CEO Adirek Sripratak.

The company chose Cebu to start its shrimp fry business as it could be supplied by the company's shrimp feed distribution network there. CPF has been exporting shrimp feed to the region.

However, CPF is not dismissing other opportunities to develop other feed and animal breeding businesses there in the future, Adirek said. 

CPF has been expanding aggressively in recent years, after having invested US$22 million in a poultry-processing plant in Turkey in 2003 and a US$3-million aquaculture project in China in 2004.

CPF expects sales growth of 5-10 percent this year, thanks to its aquaculture projects in India and Malaysia, and new projects in Laos and Russia.

The company reported sales growth of 10 percent last year to 125 billion baht (US$3.9 billion) but net profit fell sharply by 63 percent to 2.51 billion baht (US$78 million) as a strong currency and animal disease fears took it toll on the company.