Pilmico expanding feed production hubs in China, Vietnam

The Aboitiz Group’s integrated agribusiness and food subsidiary is expanding its feed mills in China and Vietnam to enter new market segments in the region.

Tristan Aboitiz, Pilmico and Gold Coin Group president and CEO, said the expansion of two offshore facilities would be completed by the first half of this year.Aboitiz, in a virtual briefing, said the feed mill in Yunnan, China, would have a capacity of about 150,000 metric tons (MT) per annum, which could be increased to 270,000 MT.

On the other hand, the facility in Long An, Vietnam, will initially handle 200,000 MT per annum but its capacity can be expanded to 300,000 MT.

Aboitiz said the company was undertaking these projects as part of their strategic moves “to enhance our service capabilities across the region to be able to appeal to a more diverse spread of customers.”

He said the group was striving to develop capabilities to ensure it could produce customer-relevant products at the lowest possible cost.

“Further to this, we’re committed to growing our presence in key markets through the investment in assets and businesses across the region,” he added.

For this year, its parent firm Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) earmarked nearly P4 billion for Pilmico and Gold Coin Group, mostly for its agribusiness expansion projects.

AEV had said the two feed mill facilities would facilitate the entry of Pilmico and Gold Coin Group into new segments of the feed market in the region and expand its livestock business in the southern region of Vietnam.Pilmico and Gold Coin Group’s business comprises four divisions: flour, feeds, farms and commodity solutions.

It is present in the Asia-Pacific region with over 29 hubs in eight countries: the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore.

Pilmico and Gold Coin Group is one of the largest feeds players in Southeast Asia with an annual capacity of 4.2 million MT. INQ