Channel 0310 Milk and Dairy Products

ILDEX Vietnam 2010 the solutions for Vietnam sustainable growth

2010-02-07T05:50:00.001-08:00

ILDEX Vietnam 2010 is ready to offer technology and business solutions for Vietnam’s livestock, dairy, meat-processing, and aquaculture industries according to NEO - - the organizer of ILDEX Vietnam 2010 which will take place on March 25-27, 2010 at the New Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer Co., Ltd., (NEO) announced the readiness of ILDEX Vietnam 2010 which will take place on March 25-27, 2010 at the New Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. At the Kick-off Launching of ILDEX Vietnam 2010, Ms. Ladda Mongkolchaivivat, General Manager, N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer (NEO) told industry representative that “ILDEX Vietnam 2010 will be the largest livestock exhibition in Vietnam. It will be a technology showcase of 125 companies from 22 countries including country pavilion from France, Singapore, Korea, China, Shanghai City, and the Netherlands. A number of international governmental and industrial bodies such as Korean Animal Health Products Association, Canadian Swine Association, British Pig Association, Vietnam Department of Animal Health, Vietnam Department of Livestock Production and CCPIT Shanghai have confirmed their participation at this industrial event.”

With heavy promotion campaign and full government support especially from the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development of Vietnam, NEO believes that ILDEX Vietnam 2010 will attract a lot of traders and buyers from over 46 cities and provinces surrounding Ho Chi Minh City. Free shuttle service will be provided for trade visitors from those areas.

ILDEX Vietnam 2010 comes in perfect timing as Vietnam livestock, dairy, meat-processing, and aquaculture industries are searching for new technology and business solutions to move the industry to the next level.

Aiming to provide the industry representative with clearer perspective of Vietnam livestock and aquaculture industries, ILDEX invited Professor Hoang Kim Giao, Director of Department of Livestock Production, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Mr. Nguyen Van Trong, Vice Director-General, Aquaculture Research Institute II of Vietnam to give keynote speeches on “Husbandry in Vietnam – Current Status and Development Goals” and “Overview Aquaculture in Vietnam” respectively.

Prof. Hoang Kim Giao underlined the important of Vietnam livestock industry. However, he said that “it is time for Vietnam to change the structure of its agriculture and rural development. Priority should be given to development of livestock industry including industrialization of livestock farming and food production management to produce high-quality livestock products that meet international food safety standard and enough to serve rising domestic and export demands. Equally important is to protect the natural environment for sustainable development.”

Mr. Nguyen Van Trong echoed the needs for technology and modern business solutions for Vietnam aquaculture industry. Although fish and shrimp have been growing rapidly, both have been facing continuous challenges especially rising production costs, lowering prices and disease management. “Our aquaculture industry might be growing a little too fast especially for catfish farming. The industry must seriously look into sustainable farming management. This time around, the emphasis should be on quality rather than quantity to ensure that growth will continue at sustainable pace. Pangasius for example, we are having market problems so while expanding into new markets we need to be certain that Vietnam’s products meet safety standards and food hygiene, required by importers.”

Apart from technology and business solutions on the exhibition floors, ILDEX Vietnam Aquaculture Conference 2010 under the theme ‘the new dimensions for Vietnam Aquaculture Industry’ will be a good education forum for stakeholders along the production chain from pond/hatchery operators to technical level personnel to managers, feed manufacturers, government officers to grasp the issues facing by the industry and develop suitable policies and aquaculture suppliers supporting the industry.

For more information of ILDEX Vietnam 2010 and ILDEX Vietnam Aquaculture Conference 2010, please contact Mr. Lertwat Chanthatarath – Senior Sales Manager at Tel: +66 2 203 4261-4, E-mail: lertwat@Qsncc.com or visit www.ildex.com
NOTES FOR EDITOR
About ILDEX VIETNAM:

ILDEX, the international trade show series of N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer Co., Ltd., (NEO), is widely known as the International Livestock, Dairy, Meat processing, and Aquaculture Exhibition. The series was first launched in 2006 in 3 emerging agricultural countries in Asia namely Vietnam (ILDEX Vietnam), India (ILDEX India), and China (ILDEX China). Today, ILDEX expands it coverage to offer effective business platforms in the Philippines, and will be from 2011 for the Indonesian market.

ILDEX Vietnam 2010 is the 3rd edition of ILDEX Vietnam series that NEO organizes in corporations with VNU Exhibitions Europe from Holland, and Minh Vi Exhibition and Advertising Services (VEAS) - its local partner. The show is supported by Department of Livestock Production - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (MARD), and will take place on 25-27 March 2010 at The New Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), Phu My Hung, HCMC, Vietnam.
About NEO:

N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer Co., Ltd. (NEO) is an experienced, full-fledged professional exhibition organizer handling both domestic and international events with the strong commitment to deliver non-stop creativity, initiated by a team of professionals and to become the leading organizer of international trade and consumer exhibitions in Southeast Asia. For more information please visit www.nccexhibition.com

Another successful conference

2010-01-30T00:13:00.001-08:00

With good early bookings, all the signs are that3 there will be another well attended Pig, Poultry & Dairy Focus Asia 2010. This event is now perceived as Asia’s leading independent technical conference for anyone involved in modern pig, poultry and dairy production and attracts production managers, QA managers, nutritionists and veterinarians. The event will be held on 1 – 3rd March 2010 at the prestigious Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

The event has 90 international experts as its speakers and topical issues such as the use of enzymes and probiotics to improve feed utilisation and animal performance, the effect of health on meat or milk quality, controlling the impact of mycotoxins, optimising reproductive performance and the value of organic minerals are among the topics on the programme.

In addition, the pig programme will consider topics such as intestinal integrity, semen analysis, weaning capacity and boar taint control and the poultry programme will also consider in ovo vaccination, evaluation of feed trials, single stage incubation and salmonella control. The Dairy programme will also focus on calf pneumonia, heat stress, reproductive health management and coccidiosis.

The conference opens with three keynote presentations on ‘The Benefits from Breeding in the Next Decade’, ‘The Role of antioxidants in animal nutrition’ and ‘Testing Strategies to Reduce the Impact of Mycotoxins in Animals’ by Frederic Grimaud of Groupe Grimaud, Richard Murphy of Alltech and Romer Laboratories’ Alios Fellinger respectively. After these the conference divides into separate programmes on pigs, poultry and dairy.

As well as being Asia’s leading technical conference, Pig, Poultry & Dairy Focus Asia 2010 will be a great opportunity for networking with many senior personnel from the international supply sector expected to be in attendance. This is also facilitated by a night of Thai hospitality, cuisine and entertainment on the Monday evening.

Full details of the pig, poultry and dairy programmes can be sourced at www.positiveaction.co.uk and bookings at the very attractive price of $US360 for the three day pig and poultry conferences or $US240 for the two day Dairy Focus Asia can be made to conference@qsncc.com.

NEW DANONE YOGHURT TO STRENGTHEN ‘ACTEVIA’ LINE

2010-01-24T06:00:00.001-08:00

Danone, the world’s No. 1 yoghurt brand, is introducing new products – coconut-flavour Actevia cup yoghurt and the 0% fat cultured drinking yoghurt. Both come with Danone’s exclusive ‘Acti-Regularis” probiotic that is clinically proven to remain live and active in the digestive tract where it exerts its effect by helping to reduce long intestinal transit time by up to 40%, depending on levels consumed and the demographic profile. The Acti-Regularis has been researched and developed by Danone Research Institute in Europe and has been well recognized by leading science research institutes during the past 20 years for its health benefits.

Activia is available at leading supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenient stores nationwide in two formats. The 110g cup yoghurt comprises plain, strawberry, blueberry and coconut flavours, and the 160ml cultured drinking yoghurt is available in 0% fat formula. The cup is priced at Bt13 and the drink at Bt11.

KFC Has Brand Appeal for International Mobile Internet Users

2009-11-20T23:52:00.001-08:00

Global survey uncovers most popular brands across a variety of categories

BuzzCity, the mobile media company has today released the findings of its latest study of mobile internet users across the globe. The study investigated which brands have the most appeal among the mobile internet audience, why this audience prefers these brands and how likely they are to recommend their favourite brands. The aim of the study is to help brands from all sectors and the agencies that work with them to better understand the mobile internet consumer and how to influence their purchasing decisions.

The study found that the brands most favoured by mobile internet users across the globe were as follows:
1 KFC
2 McDonald's
3 Sony
4 Nestle
5 Samsung
6 Nokia
7 LG
8 Coca-Cola
9 Panasonic
10 Philips

The survey also revealed that users typically base their preferences on brand performance first followed by style and then price. Quality, reliability, value and trust all also influence choice.

“We have been carrying out regular studies in to the mindset of mobile internet users for the past few years,” says KF Lai, CEO of BuzzCity. “It is clear from this study that mobile surfers are ardent brand advocates and will regularly make recommendations to peers. To encourage this, there is the potential for brands to share more product information through the mobile platform. This would be especially potent in the food sector where domestic brands dominate. Brands such as Arab Dairy (Egypt), Amul (India), Indofood (Indonesia), Mama (Thailand), San Miguel (Phillipines) and Simba (South Africa) operate in markets where the mobile internet is, most likely, the only access users have to the internet.”

The study found that although 54% of mobile users would recommend a brand to their peers only 4% would in reaction to a specific sales promotion. This finding offers brands significant insight when it comes to the type of campaigns to run over a mobile platform.

“Consumer behaviour on mobile is different from that on the internet,” continued KF Lai. “Our research shows that although some brands are starting to develop mobile strategies, there is still much work to be done. Simply producing a mobile website will no longer cut it with these savvy consumers. The provision of m-banking services and the development of mobile widgets and feeds that make content discovery and consumption easier and more accessible, are two very good places for brands to start.”

Bedtime Milk sales help lift profile of organic producer

2009-10-31T00:07:00.000-07:00

       Growing sales of Bedtime Milk have raised the profile of Dairy Home Co, a small organic milk producer in Thailand.
       The milk - containing high levels of the natural substance melatonin - was developed by Dairy Home with assistance from the Industrial Technology Assistance Programme (iTAP) of the Technology Management Centre.
       Bedtime Milk has had a good market response despite being a niche product - organic milk is a small player in Thailand's milk market, which is estimated to be worth 36 billion baht.
       Since Bedtime Milk's launch last year,its daily production has increased from only 20 litres to 200 litres, meeting strong demand, especially from healthconscious consumers, said Pruitti Kerdchoochuen, the company's founder.
       Melatonin is produced naturally in the body to help control sleep and waking patterns. Mr Pruitti's research found that milking cows in a dark and tranquil environment raises the level of melatonin in their milk.
       "It gives 10 times more than normal levels, but we weren't certain whether the pasteurisation process would have any effect on milk quality," he said.
       After years of research into Bedtime Milk, Dairy Home had been unable to progress further due to a lack of technical support and expertise, he said."Therefore, we decided to enter the iTAP programme in 2006 and received assistance from experts from iTAP's Suranaree University of Technology network."
       Dairy Home obtained technical support and investment from iTAP, which helps SMEs by providing half of the costs of development projects, up to a maximum of 500,000 baht.
       The company produces Bedtime by purchasing milk from organic dairy farms nearby to process at its plant in Pak Chong district in Nakhon Ratchasima,which has a capacity of 10 tonnes a day.
       The Livestock Development Department is expected to complete drafting the quality criteria to certify organic milk by year-end, said Mr Pruitti. In his view,the standard will mark a big step for the country's dairy industry.
       As sales are rising, the company is confident of expanding production and adding to its current outlets of The Emporium, The Mall, Foodland, Tops and Lemon Farm.
       Organic dairy lines including ice cream and yoghurt are available at Dairy Home's farm shop, next to a restaurant that serves steaks and soup. Organic rice, vegetables and rice from small farmers and produce free of chemicals and antibiotic residues are also on sale.
       Mr Pruitti says the restaurant is a meeting point where travellers wait for friends before entering the Khao Yai National Park.
       He has no plans to open a second outlet, especially in Bangkok, as he would prefer Dairy Home to be a landmark for travellers heading to the Northeast.

Bedtime Milk sales help lift profile of organic producer

2009-10-20T22:34:00.001-07:00

READY-TO-DRINK SEGMENT RECORDS 20% GROWTH

2009-10-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

       The fruit-juice market grew by 7 per cent to Bt8.2 billion over the last 12 months, thanks to brisk sales of mass market products.
       "We have seen growth at about 10 per cent each in both the medium and economy ready-to-drink fruit juice segments, worth Bt600 million and Bt2.7 billion respectively," Pathumrat Pianchorb, the director in charge of branded business for the country's leading fruit juice company, Malee Sampran, said yesterday.
       "However, the Bt1.4-billion super economy ready-to-drink fruit juice segment has enjoyed trementdous growth of almost 20 per cent over the past 12 months," she said.
       With the rebound in the economy and consumers' purchasing power, the company has witnessed signs of recovery in the fruit juice market over the last two months, she said.
       Only the premium ready-to-drink 100-per cent fruit juice segment worth Bt2.8 billion was expected to decline 3 per cent in the period, caused by a fall in pasteurised fruit juice as consumers opted for cheaper products, such as economy and super economy fruit juices.
       The market for pasteurised ready-to-drink fruit juice peroducts, which is worth about Bt300 million, dropped sharply by 20 per cent year over the past 12 months as consumers shifted to products with lower prices and longer shelf lives.
       There are also many new players competing in the economy product segment.
       Malee Sampran expects its sales to increase 5-10 per cent this year to Bt1.8 billion-bt2 billion, of which about 55 per cent is fruit juice and 45 per cent non-fruit juice.
       "We are looking to develop and launch non-juice products as well as below 100-per-cent fruit juices next year to balance our product portfolio," she said.
       Malee Sampran has budgeted Bt5 million to promote Malee i-Corn, a 100-per-cent corn milk beverage, during the 10 days of the Chinese Gin Je Festival starting on Saturday.
       During this period, Chinese like eating vegetarian food.
       "It is a great opportunity for us to boost the penetration of our Malee i-Corn corn milk beverage, particularly among the Chinese, who avoid drink dairy beverages during the Gin Je festival," she said.
       The company expects Bt200 million in sales of Malee i-Corn during the festival.
       Malee i-Corn now leads the Bt120-million UHT corn milk beverage market with a 30-per-cent share.
       The market is projected to expand by about 5 per cent this year.
       The company aims to increase Malee i-Corn's share to 35-40 per cent by next year.

Creative in the kitchen

2009-10-12T00:14:00.001-07:00

       Introduced to in the US in the early 1970, the first modern food processors were designed by Carl Sontheimer, the brilliant engineer who founded Cuisinart, a brand that is today recognised by culinary experts the world over.
       In 1989, Conair Group took over Sontheimer's business and expanded the product line to include hightech kitchen utensils such as coffee makers, toasters, kettles, food processors, water filtration units, ice cream/yoghurt makers, cutlery, electric knives, blenders and can openers.
       Cuisinart recently launched five new products and they're already proving popular with professional chefs and the brand's many fans.
       For the coffee lover, there's a Grind & Brew Thermal 10-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker that grinds the beans before rustling up a brew. It's a double-wall, insulated, brushed metal, thermal carafe that keep up to 10 cups of java juice hot for hours.
       Also new to the Thai market is the Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill, an elegant stainless steel unit that consistently grinds coffee beans to preserve delicate natural oils, maximising both flavour and aroma. It's easy to use too:simply select the desired grind consistency and cup quantity and the Burr Mill automatically stops when the right amount of coffee has been ground.
       Tea making is easy and fast with a Cordless Automatic Electric Kettle in stainless steel that boils two litres of water in minuteds. While the tea is brewing, make the toast in the Classic 2-Slice Toaster in brushed stainless polished chrome that lets you defrost and toast bagels and bread.
       Last but not least, the Smart Stick Hand Blender lets you blend, prep and whip a variety of ingredients and also features whisk and chopper attachments, perfect for that morning smoothie!

AMINO-ENABLED MILK EXTRACT FOR ALLEGIC BABIES

2009-10-11T03:11:00.000-07:00

       Siriraj Medical School has invented an aminoenabled milk extracted from rice for children with milk allergies. The milk can substitute for foreign brands extracted from corn, which sometimes fail to prevent the allergic reactions and are also much more expensive.
       Dr Theerawat Kulthanant, rector of Mahidol University's Siriraj Medical School, said at a press conference yesterday that the "amino rice milk" was the first of its kind and had been registered for copyright protection.
       Amino rice milk is the result of further research after a similar milk extracted from chicken breasts was also invented by Siriraj Medical School a few years ago. That "chicken milk" costs around Bt400 an ounce while the amino rice milk costs Bt600.
       Foreign brands of milk extracted from corn are priced much higher.
       Of 4,000 babies allergic to baby milk made of cow milk under care at Siriraj Hospital, most of them can drink chicken milk, but 200300 of them are still allergic to chicken milk and need to drink milk extracted from corn. Thailand imports this milk at a cost of tens of millions of baht each year.
       Dr Phiphob Jiraphinyo, of the School's division of paediatric medicine, said an experiment with 250 babies with milk allergy would begin next year, with eight other medical schools participating, with a Bt6million funding.
       An estimated 20,00040,000 babies are born in Thailand each year with allergies to baby's milk made from cow's milk.

Carlyle buys into China's dairy firm

2009-09-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

       The Carlyle Group said on Sunday that the US private equity giant had bought a minority stake in Yashili to help the leading Chinese infant formula maker improve its research and production.
       Washington-based Carlyle obtained a 17.3% stake in Yashili, headquartered in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, according to an e-mailed statement from Carlyle, which disclosed no further financial details of the deal.
       Carlyle's deal came after rivals including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), Sequoia Capital and other funds invested more than $1 billion combined in China's domestic dairy industry, which was badly hit by a food safety scandal last year.
       The deal signified the growing interest of global private equity funds in China's consumer sector despite the international financial crisis.
       More than a dozen Chinese dairy firms including market leader China Mengniu Dairy Co were found to have sold milk containing melamine during last year's tainted milk scandal, putting the Chinese government under pressure as families questioned poor quality controls.
       With foreign investors buying stakes in Chinese dairy makers in the past few months, Chinese officials said the domestic dairy industry had shown opportunities for growth again.
       "China's dairy industry presents a great opportunity for investment. We are pleased to see a value-adding partnership of this kind that draws on international resources to raise product standards," said Song Kungang, chairman of the China Diary Association, commenting on the Carlyle-Yashili deal.
       In August, US venture capital firm Sequoia Capital said it invested $63 million in China-focused American Dairy Inc, a strong and direct competitor of Yashili in China's fast growing baby formula market.
       In July, Hopu, a $2.5 billion fund set up by influential China dealmaker Fang Fenglei, teamed up with a domestic firm to buy 20% of Mengniu for $800 million.
       In June, KKR said it completed a series of investments in Ma Anshan Modern Farming Co Ltd, a leading dairy company headquartered in central China.
       "We see great scope to contribute to China's rapidly growing infant formula industry through this investment," said Patrick Siewert, senior director of Carlyle Asia Partners."The infant formula market in China is undergoing a positive transformation and is set to continue its strong growth trend."
       "After the deal, Carlyle will help Yashili hire an industry veteran as chief quality officer for the dairy maker and it also plans to strengthen quality control of dairy production through measures under international standards," Carlyle said in the statement.
       In June, Carlyle said it raised $1.04 billion for its fourth Asian growth capital fund, a 46% increase from the previous fund size, to focus on investments in high-growth private companies in China,India and other Asian markets.

All eyes on Dairy Milk and Milk Product Draft Act. Best solutions come from sincerity!!

2009-09-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

       Milk for Thai Club has proposed that Dairy Milk and Milk Product Act B.E. 2551 (2008) should be revised and amended. One of the most important calls is to establish the National Dairy Council as a full-function agency, which serves as "a foundation" to develop the dairy farm industry and to ensure that dairy farmers will sruvive.
       In its latest move, the Department of Livestock Development under Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives drew up a "Draft Act for Dairy Milk and Milk Product B.E......." and conduct a public hearing on August 26, 2009.
       The Milk for Thai Club was concerned with two main issues: the representative proportion and the structure of the Committee of the Dairy and Milk Product Fund; and the management of the Dairy and Milk Product Fund.
       In the first issue regarding the structure of the committee, the new draft of the Dairy Milk and Milk Product Act makes it clear that the representation of the state in the committee is higher than the representation of dairy farmers and business operators. The Milk for Thai Club proposed equal representative proportion of the committee. The government sector should play a role as the supporter to coordinate stakeholders in solving problems such as milk oversupply and milk quality, for example.
       In the second issue regarding the Daily and Milk Product Fund, which serves as a major source of funds for the sustainable development of the dairy farm industry by collecting income from stakeholders in the industry. However, in the draft act of the Dairy Milk and Milk Product Fund, the authority to manage payment is controlled by the government, not the fund committee which is appointed from stakeholders who will ensure that the Thai dairy farm industry to be sustainably developed, to be self-dependent, and to be stable in a long run.
       More information, pelase visit www.milkforthai.org.

Betagen revamps data solution

2009-09-15T19:53:00.001-07:00

       The economic downturn has been a good time for business to redesign its process for better efficiency, leading to 15-20 percent annual growth, according to Tom Van Der Lee, Chief Finance Officer of Betagen, a producer of fermented milk and yoghurt in Thailand.
       Under the company's old system, many tasks were performed manually and data could not be structured properly, making it difficult to produce relevant and reliable management information.
       Betagen decided to implement SAP Business All-in-One solution to replace its old proprietary system. The new business management solution helped to integrate sales forecasting, production planning and logistics throughout its supply chain as a single, integrated solution providing a unified view of operations.
       This provides good management information critical for business growth. It also make-to-stock production by weekly update sales forecasts, with orders coming in every 30 minutes via Electronic Data Interchange automatically checked for pricing and credit. The sales orders are turned into a distribution order, and as the transportation is planned the warehouse prepares the pick up slips. The process from order to delivery takes between 2 to 36 hours depending on order lead time.
       This has given the company full visibility of production costs, including variations down to the batch level. The result has lead the company to increase working capital by increasing the inventory turnover rate by 12 percent and reducing days sale from 31 to 29.5 days as well as reducing the head count by 50 percent both in administration and finance.
       The new system will support future integration with the Dutch Dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina, a major shareholder which helps the entire group of companies to leverage better information for global procurement. "In our experience, such projects may not involve high investment but if implemented on too big a scale, it risks failure and you get nothing in return. This is different from purchasing a car if you did not like it you can resell it. The important factors for projects like these are finding the right partners, commitment from the management as well as employee co-operation," the CFO explained.

GREEN SPOT SPOTLIGHT ON HEALTHIER SOYMILK

2009-09-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

       Green Spot Co, manufacturer and distributor of Green Spot non-carbonated orange dirnk and Vitamilk soymilk, is focusing more on healthy products, to tap rising numbers of health-conscious consumers.
       General manager Chanit Suwanparin said the company's net profit had declined over the past year, due to rising raw-material prices and transport costs.
       Therefore, if will adjust its marketing strategy by launching new products targeted at health-conscious consumers.
       The company has maintained sales growth in its health products with such new offerings as Vitamilk to Go in Black, a soymilk product for men.
       Chanit said more than Bt20 million was earmarked to launch UHT soymilk product Vitamilk Plus 200, targeted at health-conscious consumers, especially young adults.
       The company expects to boost its UHT market share to 5 per cent this year, from 3 per cent now.
       "There is a growning trend of health-consciousness, spurred to some extent by the type-A (H1N1) influenza outbreak," Chanit said.
       He said Green Spot had spent more than Bt100 million on new production machinery and that consumers were consuming more UHT soymilk because it suited a modern lifestyle and was economical.
       The local soymilk market is valued at Bt10.5 billion. Bottled soymilk accounts for 40 per cent, with Vitamilk that sector's leader with a 50-per-cent share. UHT soymilk accounts for 20 per cent of the overall soymilk market.

F&N OPENS LIQUID-MILK PLANT IN THAILAND

2009-09-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

       Malaysia-based Fraser & Neave Holdings hopes to double its revenue in Thailand and Indochina to two billion ringgit (Bt19.5 billion) within five years with the opening of its new hi-tech 250-million ringit "green field" liquid-ilk plant in the Rojana Industrial Estate.
       CEO Tan Ang Meng said sales revenue for F&N Dairies (Thailand) was expected to reach 900 million ringgit this year and that it was now ranked among the top five food-and-beverage companies in Thailand.
       "We have 45 per cent of dairy markets, and we see more potential, as there is a huge market of about 200 million people in Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam," Tan told Malaysian media after the company's board of directors visited the plant.
       He said the company, which acquired Nestle's canned-milk business in Thailand and Malaysia in 2007, had a significant presence here in the sweet-ened-condensed, evaporated, sterilised and UHT segments.
       Located on a 9.31-hectare site and 70 kilometres north of Bangkok, the plant has a total capacity of 3.5 million cans a day, or annual production of 11 million cases of product, and is fully integrated with an outsourced on-site can-manufacturing facility and logistics operations.
       Tan said the Thai plant would serve as a blueprint for F&N Dairies Malaysia's new 350 million ringgit plant at the Pulau Indah Halal Hub in Selangor, which is scheduled to being construction later this year.
       Total turnover of the group's dairies division leaped from 600 million ringgit in 2006 to 1.95 billion ringgit last year, Tan said, adding that sales revenue in the first nine months of this year reached 1.4 billion ringgit, whilw operating profits improved 50 per cent to 97.1 million ringgit.
       "The dairies division has clearly emerged as a major growth engine for the group and currently accounts for 51 per cent of sales revenue and 40 per cent of operating profits," he said.
       From purveyors of carbonated soft drinks, the F&N Group is one of Malaysia's diversified companies, with many top brands under its purview, including Coca-Cola.
       But Coca-Cola is not fully extending the bottling and distribution agreements with F&S when they expire next January 26.
       Instead, the US-based company decided to extend the agreements until September 2011.

       Sales revenue for F&N Dairies (Thailand) was expected to reach 900 million ringgit this year.

NESTLE TO PROFIT FROM CHINA MILK SCANDAL

2009-09-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

       Nestle, the world's largest food company, says sales growth in China may double to 20 per cent this year as it takes market share from rivals affected by last year's tainted - milk scandal.
       "We have gained market share, all our businesses, our branding is stronger and we had greater market recognition," Patrice Bula, chairman and chief executive officer of Nestle (China), said in an interview in Shanghai. "In the milk crisis, we were not part of it, we're not directly affected by it because all our products are safe."
       Milk tainted with melamine caused the deaths of at least six babies and sickened almost 300,000 other children in China last year. Government tests found the toxic chemical, used in making plastics, in the products of 22 companies including China Mengniu Dairy, the nation's biggest liquid-milk producer.
       "The made - in - China label is really damaging and a lot of Chinese consumers don't like it," Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai, said yesterday. "Nestle has the ability to increase market share, partly because everybody's fleeing the domestic producers."
       Mengniu posted a 949-million yuan (Bt4.87 billion) net loss last year as a result of the scandal. Company profit rose 29 per cent to 936 million yuan the previous year.
       Government support has helped the Chinese dairy industry increase consumption and industry sales are now equal to about 90 per cent of the level before the scandal, Bula said.
       Switzerland-based Nestle operates 21 factories in China and sells products including Nescafe instant coffee and Kit Kat chocolate wafer bars. Sales in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan rose 10 per cent last year to 2.23 billion Swiss francs (Bt72 billion), 2 per cent of global revenue, according to the company's website.
       The food and beverage maker aims to introduces" to accelerate sales growth in the fourth quarter, Bula said. Nestle's coffee, bouillon, milk and ice cream are among its best-selling products in China, Bula added.
       "The industry is at a stage of restructuring, where we are beginning to see which are the good companies that produce good quality products," said Rong Yaozhong, general manager of Shanghai Totle Food, Nestle's venture partner for Chicken bouillon.
       "A lot of companies will imp rive the quality of their products while those that fail to meet set standards will be shut."

Two held in milk scandal investigation

2009-08-27T00:04:00.000-07:00

       The Department of Special Investigation has arrested a village headman from Chumphon and his wife on charges of fixing a bid to win contracts to supply milk to schools in southern provinces.
       DSI officials apprehended Piya Yamchaya, a village headman from Phato district, and his six-month pregnant wife Boonjing Pensawat while they were bidding for a contract to supply milk to local schools.
       Piyawat Kingket, DSI director for special criminal cases, said the couple were suspected of bid rigging for school milk supplies in many southern provinces.
       DSI officers also raided the couple's milk packaging factories to see if the milk they produced for the schools was of poor quality.
       Pol Col Piyawat said Mr Piya and Ms Boonjing have supplied milk to numerous schools in the South for eight years.
       They operated under the names of three separate milk factories: Cha-amHuay Sai dairy cow cooperative based in Phetchaburi, Farm Chinabanchorn milk factory in Sadao district of Songkhla province, and Nam Srichon 96 CoinThung Tako district of Chumphon.
       Police claim Mr Piya and Ms Boonjing pretended to compete in bids for school milk supply contracts from tambon administration organisations.
       It is alleged that in each bid one of their companies would quote a median price while the other two would quote higher.
       At the Piya Car Care shop run by Mr Piya, DSI officials found rubber stamps for the three companies.
       Pol Col Piyawat said officers raided the three milk factories and collected milk samples for examination.
       The couple would face criminal charges if the milk was found to be substandard.
       Pol Col Piyawat said the DSI found powdered milk packages at the couple's factories.
       Contractors in the school milk programme must supply only fresh milk. But some add powdered milk to increase their profits.
       If supplies are blended with powdered milk, the profit margin could rise to as much as four baht a pack compared to 50 satang using pure fresh milk, Pol Col Piyawat said.
       The cost of producing school milk is six baht a packet.
       DSI interrogator Yuthana Palabut said the couple supplied milk to more than 70 schools in Chumphon alone.They were the first people to be arrested by the DSI in its investigation into the school milk scandal.
       The department is gathering information about substandard qualit y milk after schools lodged many complaints of stale supplies.

French cheese comes to the Himalayas

2009-08-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

       When Frenchman Francois Driard decided to settle in Nepal after a decadelong love affair with the Himalayan nation, just one thing was missing - good cheese.So the 31-year-old former business writer decided to make his own.
       For the past year and a half, Driard has been running a small dairy farm in the foothills of the Himalayas, producing mountain cheeses using traditional methods honed over centuries in the French Alps.
       "It started out as a bit of a romantic idea - I like nature and I like food, and I had a vague idea that I might do some farming," says Driard.
       "In Nepal now you can find almost everything, but non-processed cheese was missing.
       "I thought it would be a good place to make quality cheese because labour is still cheap and nature is generous.We've got good rain, good milk, it's a good country for cheese."
       Driard says he was also inspired by the desire to ensure traditional techniques are preserved as European consumers increasingly opt for cheaper, factory-made cheeses.
       But his former career compiling reports on investment opportunities in developing countries for the likes of Business Week and the Miami Herald provided scant preparation for life as a cheese maker.
       So, having rented a plot of land northwest of Kathmandu, Driard travelled to the French Alps in the summer of 2007 to learn how to make Tomme de Savoie - a semi-hard cow's milk cheese made by farmers there for centuries.
       By the end of that year he had produced his first batch of Himalayan French Cheese, which is made using the traditional French method but does not qualify for the name because it is not made in the Savoie region.
       The cheese is hand-made by a small team of workers on the farm before being aged for three months in an underground cellar, which has to
       be air conditioned during the hot summer months to maintain the correct temperature.
       "I always said I wanted to make a cheese that made you feel like you needed a glass of red wine. And it's working," Driard says of his product, which sells mainly in specialist shops and in restaurants in Kathmandu.
       "People seem happy with it and they say they want more - and they want more different products as well."
       The success has inspired Driard to experiment with other Western delicacies,such as French-style dried sausage and ricotta - an Italian soft cheese made from whey, a byproduct of the cheese-making process.But there have been challenges along the way.Initially, Driard bought milk in from local farmers, but he soon found the bacteria levels were too high for a cheese that is made using unpasteurised milk.
       Now, he has his own cattle - a decision that brought a fresh set of problems in this majorityHindu country, where cows are considered sacred and killing them is punishable with a jail sentence.
       "There's nothing you can do about it but it's a huge problem," he says, remembering the time he had to watch a sick cow die a slow and painful death rather than put her out of her misery.
       "You can't slaughter the older females or the males, and every other birth you have is a male."
       Nepal's notorious corruption problems also made it difficult to obtain all the necessary permits to set up a business here, until Driard appointed a local fixer to smooth over the cultural differences.
       But despite the difficulties, the Frenchman is optimistic about the potential for a cheese industry in Nepal, which unlike many Asian countries already has a strong dairy tradition.
       As far back as the 1950s, aid organisations began introducing Swiss cheese-making techniques to remote mountain communities here to give them a way of using up their surplus milk,and Swiss-style hard cheeses are now widely available.
       More recently, farmers have also begun producing goat's cheese and mozzarella, which they sell mainly to restaurants catering for tourists and expatriates in Kathmandu.
       Driard says the hard cheeses being made locally are "really quite good" but that they are sold too young because the farmers cannot afford to wait for payment.
       "If they were to leave it for six months to a year, it would have an amazing flavour, at least for me. I'm not sure the locals would agree. But we could be exporting extremely high quality cheese from Nepal," he says.
       Driard's ambitions include expanding his own operation - he is looking for a 6-hectare plot of land further away from the capital - and setting up a cooperative to help local farmers do more with their milk.
       "In a way, Nepal is a land of opportunity.Nothing has been done yet because it is not an entrepreneurial culture," he says.
       "But if you accept the system, there's so much that can be done."