Thai Food Group plans to increase its feed sales over the current 40,000 tonnes/month by the end of 2020 by enhancing the marketing and technical capability of its alliances, according to Pichet Mongkolsiriwatana, assistant vice-president, animal feed business.
Despite setbacks due to coronavirus and ASF, sales of TFG feed are on track to rise from 30,000 tonnes/month to 40,000 tonnes/month in Q4, 2020, generating around five billion baht. TFG forecasts feed sales to grow 12-15% in 2021.
Mr Pichet pointed out that customized formulations, hog breeding and technical support are the keys differentiating TFG’s feed from competitors.
Appointed sales agents countrywide contribute 30% of total revenue whilst the balance is attributable to business partners who operate farms and meat packing businesses. Agents develop co-branding strategies for feed alliances, which is a win-win scenario creating sustainable business for both, said Mr Pichet.
One of its agents in the Northeast successfully markets feed and piglets. The customer has increased its breeding herd to serve the growing business. It buys the finished hogs from customers, then processes and sells fresh pork.
Increasing capacity
TFG invested around 26 million baht at its feed mill in Suphanburi with the installation of ozone and dust collectors and improved truck parking areas. This is to minimize externalities due to unpleasant odours from raw materials, traffic and dust from mill operations. It hopes to cap shrink loss below 1%. Five years ago, TFG’s shrink loss was around 2%.
TFG feed handles its own procurement and stocks ample feedstuffs, and as a result it can offer the most competitive prices in the market and still make a reasonable profit.
It is set to capture new opportunities in pet food, aqua feed, layer and ruminant feed. It forecasts that sales of dairy feed launched in Q1, 2020 will hit 4,000 tonnes/month in 2021, up from 2,000 tonnes y-o-y.
Growth with good community rapport
Feed ingredients are collected in bins and closed warehouses to prevent dust and odours in nearby areas. The plant has ISO 14000 and Thai Labour Standard TLS 8001 accreditations. UFAS accreditation is in the works.
It plans to secure accreditations for its new plant in Krabinburi, in eastern Thailand, where the company has invested 550 million baht to build a new feed mill. So far, Thai Food Group has become the country’s third largest feed manufacturer, producing 170,000 tonnes/month. It is preparing to bolster feed capacity with a new 55,000-tonnes/month production tower in Krabinburi. Construction will be competed at the end of 2021. At that point TFG will have a total capacity of 210,000 tonnes/month.
It is developing markets by joining forces with alliances where it has a strong presence in the North and Northeast. It plans to develop dairy feed markets in the South and western provinces.
It is set to launch concentrated feed to supplement a total mixed ration (TMR) for beef cattle in Q4, 2020.
Processing operations
A new hog slaughterhouse with 2,000 head/shift capacity in Khampaengsaen is under construction. It will give a much-needed boost to the hog industry in Thailand’s lower north where there are few operators.
It is penetrating further in the retail business by opening four outlets in 2020. It plans to open 50 new shops in the vicinity of its processing plants in the eastern and western provinces of Thailand by 2021.
A rendering plant capable of churning out 15 tonnes/hour next to the company’s poultry slaughtering plant in Kanchanaburi is now operable.
Hog breeding
Vorapon Suthamabutr, nutrition manager, added that the company has continued to substantially improve hog productivity. TFG’s average piglets/sow/year is currently around 32 and it eyes raising that figure to 35 in 2023. Also, it is improving frame conformation and number of teats to accommodate the increasing litter size.
Carcass quality is continuously improving. Selection of sire lines aims to raise lean yield and growth rate. Its terminal boar is a cross of duroc and pietrain with a halothane-free gene to prevent sudden death syndrome and defective pale, soft, exudative meat.
TFG’s dairy feed is gaining popularity due to quality and improved milk quality and yield, said Mr Vorapon. He added that TFG’s dairy feed does not include ammonia and thus gives better quality milk with higher solid-not-fat, above 8.25%.