Cargill sinks $235m into Philippines expansion

The Minnesota-based agri-giant announced last week that it was seeking to support and expand its animal feed businesses in the Philippines with a $235m (P12.5bn) investment.

The Southeast Asian country is going through a period of growing domestic demand for animal proteins like chicken and pork, which will help drive growth in its poultry and animal nutrition businessess, said Philip Soliven, Cargill Philippines president. 

The country has been an area of interest for Cargill and the company has had a presence there for many years, said Soliven.

The $235m investment, along with driving the expansion of Cargill’s animal nutrition businesses, will contribute to the growth of C-Joy to deliver on increasing consumer demand for chicken, he added.

C-Joy is a joint venture between Cargill and Jollibee Foods Corporation focused on processing chicken for the domestic market. 

The capital will be invested in projects during the next two years, said Soliven. Announcements will follow in relation to those projects, he said.

Farmer support

Along with the animal nutrition and supply chain investments, Cargill said it is contributing $130,000 to the Inclusive Business Capacity Building Fund to support Filipino farmers.

The fund is intended to support small producers in efforts become more productive. It also promotes women working in agriculture.

Cargill said it also is planning to increase the number of animal producers it works within its in-country training programs.

Last year, the company worked with about 40,000 farmers in its development and training programs and it plans to increase that number to about 70,000 this year.