Cargill invests $50m in Thai facility
US-based Cargill is investing US$50 million (Bt1.8 billion) to expand its poultry-processing operations at its facility in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
The expansion will create 1,400 new jobs and add to the more than 13,500 people the company currently employs across 14 locations in the country.
Cargill will engage several independent smallholder broiler farms in local communities to meet the increase in demand for broiler chicken.
The company says the expansion is due to an increase in customer demand and strong confidence in the high quality and safety standards of the chicken products it makes in Thailand.
A new building annexed to the current facility began construction on October 21 and is expected to start operating in the first quarter of 2018.
“Cargill has been in the Thai poultry industry for 25 years and has grown to become the leading exporter of fully cooked chicken products in the country,” said Hans Kabat, president of Cargill Protein Southeast Asia. “I attribute this to our uncompromising approach to food innovation, quality and safety, a talented and efficient local workforce working in a strictly safe environment, and a close partnership with the Thai authorities.
“This expansion is thanks to the confidence and trust our customers place in our products, our people and our commitment to deliver.”
Cargill Protein Southeast Asia said it had been steadily growing in the Asia-Pacific region thanks to increasing customer demand and consumer appetite for poultry products.
In May, it formed a joint venture with Jollibee Foods Corporation, the largest Asian food-service company, to establish a poultry-processing facility in the Philippines, creating 1,000 jobs in the process.
In September, it started a joint venture with leading agri-food business Japfa to produce and supply fully cooked poultry products in Indonesia.
Cargill said these investments strengthened its position as a leader in food and agriculture industries in the Asia-Pacific region, and reinforce the company’s “unique abilities” to meet the changing food demands in the region.
It also reflects the tremendous growth opportunities for Cargill and its commitment to continue to invest in the region and its people, the company added.
