Thai food giant Charoen Pokphand earns $2.7 bln in Jan-Sept revenue from Vietnam

Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF) recorded revenue of THB92,210 million ($2.67 billion) from its Vietnam operation in the first nine months of this year, up 5% year-on-year.

In terms of products, the farming business, including animal breeding, live animals, and processed meat and eggs, was the biggest cash earner with THB62,320 million ($1.81 billion), up 12% year-on-year and accounting for 67% of the total.

It was followed by animal feed with THB23,661 million ($686.2 million), down 9%, accounting for 26% of the total. Food recorded a growth rate of 8%, reaching THB6,279 million ($182.1 million) and making up 7% of the total.

Regarding business lines, livestock accounted for the biggest portion with THB79,954 million, up 8% year-on-year; followed by aquaculture with THB12,256 million, down 10%.

Vietnam was CPF’s second-biggest market in the period in terms of revenue, with 21% of the total. The country was only behind Thailand, CPF’s home market which recorded THB161,735 million ($4.69 billion), down 3% year-on-year and making up 37% of the total.

CPF attributed its strong performance to the improvement in meat prices, especially swine prices in Vietnam.

However, CPF noted that the revenue in Vietnam in the third quarter alone fell 3% year-on-year to THB28,629 million ($830 million), worse that CPF’s global revenue decrease of 1% in the period.

CPF started investing in Vietnam in 1993 with its first factory in the southern province of Dong Nai. In Vietnam, the firm now operates 21 factories, including eight animal feed plants, four fisheries feed plants, two fisheries processing plants, and seven meat processing plants.