Sixty percent of the capital of Asia General Food has been acquired by the LDC poultry group.
According to Actu.fr, the Asian food company specializes in a key part of Japanese cuisine — sushi.
Already operating 30 “Sushi Master” supermarket outlets, Asia General Foods will increase this to 80 within five years, with the injection of capital from LDC. By that time, turnover is forecast to have reached EUR40 million (US$48 million).
In the field of Asian cuisine, LDC already has a track record through its Tradition d’Asie (Asian Tradition) brand.
According to Societe, Asia General Food in based in Ivry-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris. Specializing in prepared meals, the firm had a turnover in 2019 of more than EUR11.5 million — a year-on-year increase of 15%. It was founded almost 30 years ago.
High feed costs hit LDC’s half-year results
As well as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, rising grain prices have impacted the half-year results of LDC Group.
For the first quarter of the year, the firm achieved a slight increase in sales, reported Ouest-France at the end of last month. The firm says it successfully shifted its products destined for the hospitality market to the retail sector for the three-month period ending in August. The firm’s half-year sales were EUR2.12 billion.
However, the challenges for the coming months are forecast to grow as restrictions continue to keep restaurants shut, and lead to uncertainty over families’ plans for holiday season celebrations.
Poultry feed prices have been rising recently, linked to an 18% year-on-year increase in grain prices. This has led LDC’s CEO, Denis Lambert, to call on French supermarkets to increase their payments to the poultry companies from the start of next year. This would help to “re-balance” the market, he said.
More on LDC
Despite being nudged off the top slot among the rankings of the Top Poultry Companies in Europe from WATT Poultry, LDC remains the largest poultry company operating mainly in Europe. Its annual slaughterings are over 578 million head.
Operating from more than 80 production sites in Europe, LDC has a number of poultry meat brands in its product portfolio. Exports account for 17% of its total sales.
In recent years, LDC Group has made a number of acquisitions. In 2019, the firm acquired French traditional poultry company Société Luché Tradition Volailles and Marnevall of Hungary, as well as Kiplama of Belgium.
