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Published on November 24, 2007

Japan has doubled its chicken-processing capacity in Thailand with the largest plant in Asia, thanks to its confidence in the Kingdom's high-quality production amid concerns over food safety in China.

Ajinomoto Betagro Frozen Foods, a joint venture between Tokyo-based Ajinomoto Frozen Food and Thailand's Betagro Group, yesterday held the grand opening of its chicken-processing plant in Lop Buri.

Meanwhile, agro-industrial manufacturer and exporter Betagro Group announced that its sales revenue would grow 15 per cent to Bt37 billion next year, an increase from the estimated Bt33 billion this year.

The new factory's production capacity will reach 24,000 tonnes a year, increasing from 9,600 tonnes in its first phase. The new plant could have a full capacity of 30,000 tonnes in its second phase.

The Bt1.25-billion plant has been installed with state-of-the art technology to produce grilled and fried chicken for export to Japan.

Daiji Shindo, president and chief executive officer of Ajinomoto Frozen Foods, said his company had decided to increase its production capacity here because of high-quality production and a rich supply of raw materials for the industry.

"The company is confident that the firm will succeed in exporting huge amounts of processed chicken to Japan, which has high demand because chicken is known as healthy food," said Shindo.

Asked about the benefits of the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (Jtepa), Shindo said that irrespective of tariff incentives, Thai chicken ranked much higher than Chinese chicken in the Japanese market. Japanese consumers have more confidence in eating Thai chicken because of high-quality production.

Under Jtepa, the tariff for exporting Thai chicken to Japan has been reduced to 3 per cent from 6 per cent.

Shindo said the new plant should also increase the potential of his firm to capture more of the chicken market in Japan. Ajinomoto has 25 per cent of a market worth 30 billion yen (Bt8.7 billion).

Vanus Taepaisitphongse, chief executive officer of Betragro Group, said revenue of the joint-venture company was expected to increase by 50 per cent, from Bt1.2 billion this year to Bt1.8 billion next year, thanks to higher production capacity at the new plant.

Sales are projected to reach Bt3.4 billion in 2010. Besides exports to Japan, the firm is considering exporting its chicken to other markets including the United States, the European Union and other Asian countries.

Vasit Taepaisitphongse, president of Ajinomoto Betagro Frozen Foods, said the new factory reflected the importance of the Japanese market and the increasing demand in that country for high-quality frozen products.

"Our increased production capacity made possible by the new plant enables the company to satisfy consumer demand. This also helps us maintain high production quality and food safety to beat competitors," said Vasit.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

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