China Yurun Food Group, the biggest hog processor in China, is aiming to triple hog-slaughtering capacity by 2012 to benefit from rising demand for the country’s main meat staple.
Chairman Zhu Yicai stated that the Nanjing-based company wants to lift annual capacity from 18 million head to 50million, with acquisitions and expansion accounting for the growth.
Wholesale pork prices in China, the world’s biggest consumer and producer of pork, have almost doubled in the past two years.
“The new policy creates a unique opportunity for large-scale slaughtering houses, including us, to rapidly strengthen market penetration,” Zhu said. “Smaller players with low hygiene standards will be phased out.”
Yurun, which posted a 71-percent jump in first-half profit this week, is planning HK$1.7 billion of capital expenditure this year.