New Asian plant to meet hike in demand for sophisticated feed ingredients: Cargill
The US agribusiness giant invested US$12m in the plant, which is located in Bulacan.
It said the facility would meet the increasing demand from medium and large livestock farms and feed millers in the Philippines and Southeast Asian countries, targeting producers that may be shifting from compound feeds to developing their own formulations and feed millers who may want a broader portfolio.
Capacity is said to be 20,000 metric tons of premix products per year.
Last year, Cargill noted that livestock husbandry in the Philippines was undergoing a transition as farms consolidate and grow larger and, thus, require more sophisticated feed ingredients.
The facility brings to five the number of animal nutrition production facilities Cargill has in that Asian country.
Cargill also announced yesterday the opening of a new poultry-processing factory in Batangas it is operating through a joint venture with Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), one of the largest buyers of chicken in the Philippines.
Fast growing market
Other feed manufacturers have been showing interest in the Philippines. In May 2016, French animal nutrition group, Neovia acquired a Philippines based pig, poultry and aqua feed manufacturer, Popular Feedmill Corporation (PFC).
Neovia has had a presence in that Asian country since 2014 in the form of a commercial subsidiary but it said the purchase of PFC allowed it to strengthen its standing in a fast growing market; it gained feed manufacturing facilities in Cebu and Bulacan.
The Philippines has a population of over 100 million people, which is expected to grow by 57% by 2050, making it then the 10th most populated country in the world, noted Neovia then.
The biggest user of feed, in terms of livestock segments in that Asian country, are broilers, followed by layers and then swine, said the French company.
