Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Cargill opens $100 mil. livestock feed plant
By Lee Hyo-sik
Lee Bo-kyeun, CEO of Cargill Agri Purina, speaks during a press conference at the Westin Chosun Hotel, downtown Seoul, Wednesday. The Korean unit of Cargill, a U.S. grain and livestock feed producer, has opened a $100 million plant, capable of producing 870,000 tons of feed annually, in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of Cargill Agri Purina
By Lee Hyo-sik
Cargill, a U.S. grain and livestock feed producer, has opened a $100 million livestock feed mill here, capable of producing 870,000 tons of feed annually, putting it in a better position to compete with market leader the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup.
Cargill Agri Purina, Cargill’s Korean unit, will operate the plant built on a 52,610 square-meter site in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to capitalize on the country’s rapidly-growing animal food market in line with Koreans’ increasing meat consumption.
“It took more than three years to complete our Pyeongtaek plant. It marks one of the most significant milestones in Cargill’s long history in Korea,” Lee Bo-kyeun, CEO of Cargill Agri Purina, said during a press conference, Wednesday, a day before the plant officially goes into operation.
“The Pyeongtaek mill reaffirms our commitment to sustainable growth of Korea’s feed and livestock industry,” Lee said. “The facility brings Cargill’s world-class productivity and efficiency to the market by providing customers with the best nutrition and feed safety. This will help our customers improve animal performance and grow their business.”
The feed plant will incorporates Cargill’s approach to feed safety, ingredient quality and product integrity, the CEO said, stressing that Cargill Agri Purina plans to provide its customers with safe, trusted feed that maximizes the performance of their operations. This also helps to improve food safety across Korea’s supply chain, he said.
“The plant will produce poultry, ruminant, swine and pet food products for animal producers. With a capacity of 870,000 tons, this facility is the Cargill’s largest animal feed plant in the world,” Lee said. “Besides its state-of-art technology, the new feed mill will strive to achieve the highest standards of food safety to serve Korea’s animal nutrition industry.”
Cargill first entered Korea in 1956 and set up its first plant in 1969. Last year, Cargill Agri Purina and other Korean units posted 847.1 billion won in sales, producing 1.46 million tons of animal feed and other livestock-related products.
Cargill Agri Purina was formed in 2007 through a merger of Agribrands Purina Korea and Cargill Korea in 1997. The company operates four plants, including the new Pyeongtaek one, and employs 600 workers.