CPF invests US$61.8 million on ready-meal plant

Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) will invest THB2 billion (US$61.8 million) to build an integrated ready-meal production plant to produce a wide range of product lines including egg noodles and sausages.

"This new plant will be one of Asia's largest rice-cooking facilities with a capacity of 400 tonnes per month," says Adirek Sripratak, the company's president and CEO, adding that the products would also be utilised in CPF's Ezy Go-branded ready meals to supply its retail outlets.

Sripratak added that the plant will also produce meals for restaurants and manufacturing plants as well as for export markets.

He noted that the investment is part of a THB6-billion budget CPF has planned for 2010. About half of the budget will be used to finance overseas projects, such as expanding swine production in Russia and poultry operations in Turkey and developing new businesses in the African countries of Kenya and Tanzania.

The expansion, he said would help CPF's sales revenue this year hit its growth target of 10% year-on-year and would focus more on higher-margin ready-to-eat food, which has paid off in both the domestic and international markets particularly in the emerging market of Turkey which, had contributed to the higher earnings.