Cargill taps into Asia’s poultry growth with local partners

The US-based conglomerate believes the Asian market is a critical one, with the suggestion that consumption of meat per head of capita will grow by 100% between 2000-2025 in Indonesia, 93% in the Philippines and 57% in China over the same period.

In its annual report, released this week, Cargill said it had formed a joint-venture with Indonesian-based company So Good Food to deliver fully cooked chicken products to convenience stores and petrol kiosks – areas where many consumers socialise and eat.

State-of the-art processing facility

Cargill has also in the past year formed a joint venture with Jollibee Foods, Asia’s largest foodservice brand, with more than 2,500 locations in its home country of the Philippines. It is building a state-of the-art processing facility that will supply a variety of chicken products to Jollibee’s restaurants. The partnership also provides local poultry farmers with breakthrough access to expanding urban markets.

Renato Huelgas, Cargill agriculture project leader for the Jollibee joint venture, said: “We are changing the game on how protein is delivered to consumers, bringing best-in-class capabilities to food safety, product innovation and supply chain management to Jollibee’s dynamic brand. We are building something meaningful,” he said.

Increasing export to Thailand

As well as expanding operations to increase exports to Thailand, Cargill said it had been mobilising its fully integrated supply chain to reach online consumers in China.

Its Sun Valley brand is now available directly to consumers on digital platforms such as Alibaba and Tencent. Cargill is also partnering with US-based livestock development charity Heifer International to assist small poultry farms to boost husbandry practices.

In Central America, the company is working with owners of small local shops to provide business training and install refrigeration, so that shops can increase sales of fresh chicken products.