Charoen to boost Central Luzon food industry

Charoen Pokphand Foods Philippines Corporation (CPFPC) is expanding its operations in Central Luzon to generate more jobs, income and benefits for farm workers and people engaged in the agriculture and aqua sectors.

This was disclosed by CPFPC vice chairman Sakol Cheewakoset and Livestock Feed Business vice president Sompong Rojanaadisorn, who said that the Philippine countryside has a lot of potential when it comes to the food industry.

“Here in the Philippines, you have a lot of potential in the food business. Primarily, there are no diseases in swine and poultry that is why we decided to expand our food business here,” Cheewakoset said.

“With our technology, people and skills, we can improve your agriculture a lot. We assure you that three to five years from now, with the support of government, we can find the market for your products in Japan, China, Middle East, Thailand and other countries,” Cheewakoset added.

The CPFPC is engage in the animal feeds business.

Rojanaadisorn shared that CPFPC planted the P10-billion seed investment in March 20, 2007, when the company set up CPF Philippines Corporation, its wholly owned subsidiary engaged in the operations of shrimp hatchery in the Philippines.

“We started in 2007 in Visayas. We have businesses here which started in 2009 in the City of San Fernando. We have the aqua business, then farm business, then food business, and poultry in various farms in Central Luzon and the Visayas. Investment is approximately P10-billion,” he said.

In order to harness the full potential of CPFPC in Central Luzon and the Visayas, Rojanaadisorn stressed that the Thai firm strictly adheres and complies with local regulations and investment policies.

“We strictly adhere to regulations and policies anywhere in the world where we do business. We follow the three benefits we have in countries where we invest, that is, benefit to the country like in the Philippines, benefit to the people of the Philippines, and then benefit to the company,” he said.

That is why, Rojanaadisorn added, Charoen Foods employs locals. “We have more than 1,000 in the Philippines now. We also increase that as we expand our business, like 2,000 to 3,000 in the next three to five years for Filipinos. We generate jobs, we generate income,” Rojanaadisorn said.

“The indirect effect is to the farm workers. Like we use a lot of corn sourced from local farmers for our feed mill. That helps a lot of locals in terms of livelihood and income,” he said.

To help more people in the agriculture sector, CPFPC continues to reach out with bigger projects and its corporate social responsibility (CSR).

“We have a big project coming and it’s the creation of a cooperative. This will be of help to poor people, and we have started coordinating with the local government of Pampanga for this cooperative,” Rojanaadisorn said

As part of its CSR, Charoen Foods donated some P10-million for the rehabilitation of Typhoon Haiyan victims years ago, and recently donated another P10-million to the Department of Agriculture through Secretary Manny Piñol.

“That is for the rural areas, for agriculture, so we can sponsor and help in the development of infrastructure in rural areas. It is part of our giving back to communities,” Cheewakoset said.

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co. Ltd. (Public, BAK: ACB) is a Thailand-based manufacturing company. The Company is engaged in the production and sales of food products.

Its operations cover the entire cycle of the agro-industrial sector, ranging from sourcing raw materials for animal feed production, manufacturing animal feeds, breeding animals, farming animals for commercial purposes, processing meat and manufacturing processed food products, to distributing products to domestic and international consumers. Its operation is divided into two main business lines, the livestock business and the aquaculture business.

The Company’s products are comprised of three main categories, animal feeds, animal breeders and meat and food products. Charoen Pokphand Foods has a global network with 58 subsidiaries. (JTD)