LEONG HUP INTERNATIONAL TO BOOST VIETNAM'S FEEDMILL PRODUCTION TO 1.3 MILLION

By Nurul Jannah Kamaruddin

HO CHI MINH, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysian poultry and livestock feed producer Leong Hup International Bhd is targeting an annual feedmill production of up to 1.35 million tonnes next year with the commencement of its fourth plant in Dong Nai next month.

Chief Executive Officer for Vietnam Operations Lau Joo Hong said at the moment, the company’s livestock feed production capacity amounted to 1.12 million tonnes per annum.

He said the company was allocating capital expenditure of RM77.8 million and RM80.2 million for 2018 and 2019, respectively, for further plant expansion.

Two of the company’s feedmill plants are located in southern Vietnam, namely Bau Bang and Tien Giang provinces, while the northern plant is located in Hai Doung.hup

In addition, Leong Hup International produces animal medicines and supplements in Bau Bang.

The company also owns five genetic farms (breeding) and three layers and a hatchery in Vietnam.

"By 2020, we are targeting the production to grow to 1.5 million tonnes, contributed by the expansion of Bau Bang and Tien Giang plants, as well as further expansion of the fourth feedmill in Dong Nai," he said during a media site visit to the company's Vietnam operations, here.

"The poultry consumption per capita in Vietnam now is less than 15 kilogrammes (kg) annually, very low compared to that of Malaysia at around 50 kg.

"If they grow another 10 kg per capita, there is a lot of potential for us. So, we are following the growth of the market," he said.

At the moment, Leong Hup International produced 36 million old day chicks per annum, making it the top three integrated poultry producer in Vietnam.

"We are still very confident with the region. We hit RM1.056 billion mark revenue in 10 years of operations in 2017 and we hope to do strongly in the future," he said, adding that in 2017, Vietnam’s operations contributed 19.2 per cent to the group revenue.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017, Leong Hup International recorded 5.5 per cent growth in net profit after minority interest to RM192.6 million.

Revenue rose 4.7 per cent to RM5.5 billion from RM5.24 billion in 2016.

-- BERNAMA