August 18, 2009

CPF five-year profit target near US$300 million

Thailand's leading food producer and exporter, Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), has stepped up a gear to promote CP-branded products abroad, aiming to raise its sales from the segment to more than THB10 billion (US$293 million) over the next five years.

In Hong Kong, CP-branded products include fresh eggs, frozen meals, frozen shrimp, shrimp and pork wonton, frozen ready-to-eat chicken products and CP Meiji dairy products.

CPF recently added frozen raw pork and sausage to its portfolio for the Hong Kong market. The company is also looking for ways to export new product lines such as frozen desserts and melon produce from affiliated firms.

Sutha Dansermsuk, general manager of CP Merchandising Co, a subsidiary of CPF, said sales in Hong Kongwere mostly for packed fresh eggs, where CPF expects to gain a market share of 15 percent to 18 percent of Hong Kong's THB1.2-billion retail market. It ships about 300,000 eggs per day to Hong Kong.

CPF is highly likely to invest in the near future in outsourcing production of CP-branded products in the US to save production and transport costs once the market had expanded.