Cargill has hinted it will process seafood at a new meat processing plant it has opened in eastern China.
A USD 48 million (EUR 42.4 million) plant opened this week in the city of Chuzhou, in Anhui Province, will produce cooked and breaded chicken products for domestic sales and exports, according to the Wayzata, Minnesota, U.S.A.-based firm. But Cargill also aims to produce processed seafood, beef and lamb products at the plant, which is part of a bigger complex into which Cargill have invested USD 500 million (EUR 441.1 million) over two decades.
“Consumer demand for proteins is growing day-by-day in China and we want to meet that demand with unique products tailored to what consumers want,” said Chen Mian, head of Cargill’s animal proteins division in China, who addressed the press this week at the opening of the new facility.
Breaded chicken nuggets are among the many products Cargill will be producing at the Chuzhou facility, which also has an in-house research and development center investigating innovation in food products and recipes.
Cargill has also sought to build its presence in the animal nutrition and health market, as the company has been researching solutions to disease issues hampering China’s pomfret farmers. The company’s animal nutrition center is located in a research and manufacturing base in Jiangxi Province.
