Construction of new poultry farms for Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) in eastern Taiwan has come to a temporary halt as the Thailand-based agrifood company forecasts that 2020 will be its best year ever for business.
Following protests by local people, CP Group announced it will suspend construction work on several new poultry farms, reports Taiwan News.
Plans were underway by the firm for six new production units with 375,000 birds in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan. Construction has been put on hold in the townships of Fenglin, Guangfu, and Shoufeng, in order to prevent further protests.
Over recent weeks, local residents — supported by the Presbyterian Church — have taken to the streets to protest against the developments. In a petition to the county magistrate, they set out their concerns regarding the environmental impacts of the farms. They fear adverse effects on the quality of air and water, as well as an increase in traffic.
Founded in 1976, Taiwan CP Group is active in animal production, feed and food processing. Aiming for greater internationalization and diversification, the company says it upholds the concepts of safety, freshness and deliciousness, and has strict standards covering all aspects of its business.
More on CP Foods: 'Best year ever'
Within the last month, Charoen Pokphand’s agri-food company (CP Foods; CPF) in Thailand announced its forecast that 2020 would be its best year ever, reported Bangkok Post. Chief Executive Prasit Boonduangprasert said this performance would stem from the continued strong market for pork in Asia, and to the firm’s planned expansion into North America.
As the result of African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks across much of Asia, pork prices have risen and remain high, he said. At the same time, chicken prices have been in recovery.
For the first quarter of this year, CPF reported net profit up by 43% at 6.11 billion baht (THB; US$195 million). The firm attributes this successful result to high pork prices in Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as to its new Canadian business. Having acquired pork producer Hylife of Canada in 2019, this latest quarter was the first to which the firm had contributed to CPF’s results.
At the end of last year, CPF announced its aim to expand in 17 international markets. At that time, the firm identified China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia and the United States as markets of particular interest.
Since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, CPF has provided relief to those affected by the disease both at home in Thailand and worldwide.
With annual slaughterings of 685 million birds, CP Group is the world’s sixth largest poultry producer, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies database.
