Brazil’s BRF SA is aiming to expand further into Asia by building on a recent Indonesian joint venture with more partnerships and acquisitions, the company has announced
BRF SA had recently sealed a US$200mn joint venture with Indofood to debut on the Indonesian consumer market.
Marcos Jank, head of corporate affairs at BRF SA, said, “Our goal is to do in Asia what we did in the Middle East.”
BRF SA had made 36 per cent of its revenue in Q3 2014 from the Middle East, where its Sadia brand has been supplying poultry products for 30 years. In contrast, just 24 per cent of revenue came from Asia despite a much greater population.
According to Jank, Asia is a huge potential market for BRF SA. “Home to half of the world’s population, it consumes only one-quarter of the poultry that Brazil does on a per capita basis, while the global average for chicken consumption is twice of what it is in Asia.”
Jank singled out China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Thailand as potential markets.
BRF SA was formed through a 2009 merger of the two biggest local poultry and meats processors — Perdigao and Sadia.
“We’re looking at various other opportunities for expansion. What we want now is to extend the supply chain in other countries, with either Brazilian goods or local raw materials,” Jank added.
