Thailand’s Betagro Group depends on exports in 2019
BETAGRO Group, one of Thailand’s biggest agro-industrial and food companies, seeks sales growth of 15 per cent this year from the food business, led by processed food and exports.
Somsak Boonlarp, chief operating officer for food at Betagro, said the company expects sales from its food business will top 53 billion baht ($1.668 billion) this year, up from 49 billion baht last year. Some 30 per cent of total sales will stem from exports, up from 24 per cent last year.
Betagro aims to increase export volume by 12 per cent this year to 97,580 tonnes at year-end, mainly for frozen cooked chicken and chicken raised without antibiotics under the S-Pure brand.
Export markets include Asia, specifically Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the Middle East, as well as Europe and Scandinavian countries.
“The company is looking to become one of the world’s leaders in safe and hygienic food products free from antibiotics, hormones and growth stimulants, certified as raised without antibiotics for fresh pork, chicken, and eggs,” he said. “We plan to invest more in the intermediate manufacturing process this year to capture the ready-to-eat and processed food markets both for domestic and exports.”
For the past two to three years, the company has focused investment mainly on upstream processes such as farm and animal feeds.
Somsak said the company’s 600 million baht processed food factory in Lopburi
province is under construction and is due to be completed in September. The new facility has a production capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year and will focus largely on teriyaki chicken for export to Japan.
The company also plans to increase Betagro shops to 200 this year from 190 last year, selling products to wholesale and food service businesses.
He said the deepening trade war has not affected Betagro’s export market, but admitted the fluctuating exchange rate has troubled the company’s exports.
“Thailand’s poultr y exports look promising t his year because of t he rising price of livestock products, including eggs and pork, compared with last year,” said Somsak. “But the countr y needs to prevent diseases that have broken out in ot her countries.”
He said Thailand’s food products still have a lot of opportunities in the global market as long as local producers can offer a variety of processed food products and adjust as fast as possible to customers’ varying needs.
Founded in 1967 to make and distribute animal feed, Betagro Group operates a wide range of agriculture-related business, such as chicken and swine farms, eggs, processed meat, animal drugs and pet food, from 30 factories.
The company reported sales of more t han 90 billion baht last year, wit h 80 per cent from domestic sa les. Food business made up 60 per cent of tota l sa les.