East Hope Group, one of the largest feed companies in China, will open 50 new overseas feed plants over the next five to seven years, reported the Shanghai-based China’s First Financial Daily April 19.
With the 50 new plants, East Hope’s annual feed capacity will increase from 1.2 million tons to about 20 million tons, Liu Yongxing, the company’s president, told the newspaper.
Yongxing said that Southeast Asia is an attractive destination for the new plants, because feed demand in the region is increasing in line with its fast economic development.
As Eastern Europe's feed demand grows, East Hope may also consider building plants there, he added.
Due to quality control concerns and for production reasons, East Hope prefers building new plants rather than entering into joint ventures or purchasing local factories, the newspaper reported.
When contacted by Poultry International, East Hope spokeswoman Chen Liping said, “We do want to explore [the] overseas feed market.”
The company has six overseas feed subsidiaries in Vietnam, with a Singapore plant still under construction, said Chen.
East Hope operates more than 70 feed plants in China.