May 30, 2019

Betagro seeks to boost sales by 15% from processed food and exports

Betagro Group seeks sales growth of 15% this year from its food business, led by processed food and exports, the Bangkok Post reported.

Somsak Boonlarp, chief operating officer for food of Betagro, said the company expects sales from its food business to reach 53 billion baht (US$1.67 billion) this year, up from 49 billion last year. Exports will account for some 30% of total sales, up from 24% last year.

Betagro aims to increase export volume by 12% this year to 97,580 tonnes, mainly for frozen cooked chicken and chicken raised without antibiotics under the S-Pure brand.

Export markets include Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the Middle East, as well as Europe and Scandinavian countries.

"The company is looking to become one of the world's leaders in safe and hygienic food products free from antibiotics, hormones and growth stimulants, certified as raised without antibiotics for fresh pork, chicken, and eggs," he said. "We plan to invest more in the intermediate manufacturing process this year to capture the ready-to-eat and processed food markets, both domestic and exports."

For the past two to three years, the company has focused investment mainly on upstream processes such as farm and animal feeds.

Somsak said the company's 600-million-baht processed food factory in Lop Buri is under construction and is due to be completed in September this year. The new facility has an annual production capacity of 3,000 tonnes and will focus largely on teriyaki chicken for export to Japan.

The company also plans to increase Betagro shops to 200 this year from 190 last year, selling products to wholesale and food service businesses.

With regard to the US-China trade war, Somsak said that the fluctuating exchange rate has troubled the company's exports.

However, he added that "Thailand's poultry exports look promising this year because of the rising price of livestock products, including eggs and pork, compared with last year."

"But the country needs to prevent diseases that have broken out in other countries."