'As emerging markets begin to move up the pig efficiency curve, we want to be there at the onset' - Hamlet Protein eyes potential of Cambodia and Laos
Chief commercial officer with the Danish company, Søren Bank, told us it expects to take advantage of the migration from back yard production to more professional piglet farming in countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
“As emerging markets begin to move up the pig efficiency curve, we want to be there at the onset. We have already started feeding trials in those regions, and we will continue to produce locally sourced data to support market entry,” he said.
Hamlet Protein’s creep feed for piglets, he said, is a household brand in the more developed markets of South East Asia – a region where Bank said it intends to continue to expand: “We have seen rapid growth – double digit figures – in those markets over the past few years and anticipate greater market share from continuing to invest in the region.”
The firm has revised its long standing collaboration agreement with Bangkok-based distribution company, Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients, including investing in technical expertise on the ground, to make a push into the poultry segment in markets like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore, with a broiler-targeted starter feed.
Hamlet’s tie-up with Jebsen & Jessen makes the regulatory side of market development less challenging. “Essentially our partner in the region is a strong conduit for product registration. But the Jebsen & Jessen team also has a huge amount of knowledge about our product base along with a tight technical, nutritional and sales organization throughout South East Asia,” said Bank.
Spanish trial data
He said the company’s starter feed for chicks, HP AviStart, which is produced by co-processing yeast and soya, is supported by trial data from the markets where it has already gained traction such as Europe and the US.
In its evaluation of the starter, the institute La Granja Solé in Vila-Rodona, Tarragona, Spain, found inclusion of the product in male broiler diets for the first seven days numerically improves overall performance up to slaughter.
The researchers replaced soya bean meal in the control diet’s starter feed with 5% or 10% of HP AviStart. The test diet was fed for seven days post hatching after which the groups were fed identical diets. Twenty-four male broilers per replicate and eight replications per treatment were used.
The 10% HP AviStart group showed the same performance up to slaughter as the 5% cohort. “Because of the higher treatment cost this resulted in a lower profit. The financial results were the best with 5% HP AviStart,” found the Spanish team.
