Alltech looks to build presence in Cambodian market
The company announced in November that it was establishing the unit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The goal of the project is to address the growth within the agricultural sector in Cambodia, said Matt Einarson, regional director for Alltech in Southeast Asia. “What’s needed now are the right nutritional technologies and on-farm services to help livestock producers improve profitability and efficiency,” he added.
“We had previously been importing product from Thailand and Vietnam for 10 years,” he told FeedNavigator. “Now that we have reached the size we are currently at, it made sense to best support the market and our partners to make the investment to establish locally.”
Alltech has seen 33% growth in its business in Cambodia in the last 12 months, it reported. The country’s agricultural sector reportedly grew more than 5% from 2004 to 2012 and its GDP has had the largest percentage of growth among the countries in Southeast Asia.
As the sector expands, there is an increasing move toward more intensive production practices, Einarson said.
“The trend for the market here, as in most emerging markets, is toward more intensive systems which can stand to benefit from in-feed technologies contributing to improvements in efficiency and profitability,” he said.
“Another big trend is feed quality – both raw materials and manufactured product,” he said. “The threat of mold and mycotoxins is quite high due to the high heat and humidity, as well as the reliance on imported material.”
Market, facility details
The new office opened in October; the company has also has had an initial informational seminar in Phnom Penh.
Establishing a base in Cambodia is anticipated to allow Alltech to become a stronger local presence, the company said. Feed production in the country has doubled since 2013 and is predicted to double again in the next few years.
“I foresee a growing team to support the sales in the very near future,” said Einarson. “We have primary manufacturing in Thailand and Vietnam.”
On a wider scale, the company has been, and is set to continue, investing in the Southeast Asian region, he said. “We will start to break ground in January for Alltech’s largest production facility in Asia, which will be located just outside of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam,” he added.
That facility is expected to generate Bioplex organic trace mineral products, mold inhibiting products and enzyme technologies, he said. The company would have easy access to Cambodia from Vietnam.
In Cambodia, the market focus is predominately on work with products for monogastrics, he said. “At the moment the feed market is dominated by swine and poultry – there is small but growing beef segment, but our focus remains in the monogastric segment,” he added.
Livestock numbers also have been expanding, Alltech reported. Currently, there are more than 27m birds and 2.5m pigs raised in the country.
Among its product lines available there, Alltech has seen most market interest in organic trace minerals, said Einarson. “Organic trace minerals are a more natural and bioavailable form, contributing to increases in health, reproduction and performance while at the same time reducing waste,” he added.
