Uni-President to build aquafeed mill in India

Uni-President Enterprises Corp., the flagship unit of Taiwan food and consumer goods conglomerate Uni-President Group, has announced plans to build an aquafeed plant in India, the first step in an overseas expansion to take place over the next two years.

The company has been selling feed into India this year through its affiliate in Vietnam, and said it will build a feedmill in the country when sales reach 10,000 tons, a target it expects to hit by 2011.

The company has feedmills in China, Philippines and Thailand and three in Vietnam, where it enjoys 35 per cent of market share. Two of its Vietnam aquafeed mills are running at full capacity. The third mill, built at a cost of  US$140 million, came on line in March this year. The 13-hectare aquafeed plant, in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam, will have an annual capacity of 100,000 tons, Uni-President Enterprises said, adding the new plant will increase its overall aquatic feed production capacity in Vietnam by 40% from 250,000 tons.