SET-listed Thai Union Frozen Products Plc (TUF), the world’s largest canned tuna company, expects annual revenue to rise to USD 8 billion by 2020 on continuous growth in global food demand.
Last year, TUF posted a 40 percent increase in turnover to USD 3 billion. In the first nine months of 2011, TUF’s net profit rose 30 percent year-on-year to 3.5 billion baht on total revenue of 72 billion baht (USD 2.4 billion), said Thai Union founder and Chairman Kraisorn Chansiri, who has been dubbed the world’s King of Tuna.
Now 77 years old, he has been honored by the Right Livelihood (Summacheep) Foundation as the business person of year for 2011.
The father of TUF president Thiraphong Chansiri set up the business 35 years ago with initial capital of USD 1 million.
His business empire grew from 150 employees to 30,000 at present. In 1997, TUF joined with an Italian partner to acquire U.S.-based Chicken of the Sea before gaining 100 percent of the joint venture in 2001.
