Massive chicken plant opens in Thailand

Ajinomoto Betagro Frozen Foods is a joint venture between Tokyo-based Ajinomoto Frozen Food and Thailand’s Betagro Group. The production capacity of the new factory is estimated at 9,600 tonnes, which will eventually reach 24,000 tonnes a year. The full capacity of the plant is reported to be 30,000 tonnes in its second phase.

State-of-the art technology has been installed in the Bt1.25-billion (€843 million) plant to produce grilled and fried chicken for export to Japan.

According to president and CEO of Ajinomoto Frozen Foods, Daiji Shindo, the company decided to increase production capacity in the country 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.

According to Vanus Taepaisitphongse, CEO of Betragro Group, revenue of the joint-venture was expected to increase by 50%, from Bt1.2 billion (€809 million) in 2007 to Bt1.8 billion (€1.2 billion) in 2008, thanks to higher production capacity at the new plant.

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