SINGAPORE — With global protein demand continuing to rise, major agricultural company Cargill continues to look for new markets for cooked poultry products.

The company recently announced it would invest more than $130 million in the next two years to expand its poultry operations in Asia. Cargill plans to make capacity and efficiency updates across its entire poultry network in Thailand and the Philippines, with an emphasis on supply chain resilience, enhanced food safety, quality, and innovation to support foodservice and retail businesses around the world.

“Demand for high-quality protein continues to grow across global markets, and customers are looking for reliable innovation partners who can help them scale with confidence,” said Watcharapon Prasopkiatpoka, vice president and managing director of Poultry APAC at Cargill. “This investment strengthens our ability to deliver poultry products with the quality and consistency our customers need. By investing in infrastructure, technology and people, we are serving the growing demand from customers for high-quality protein, while creating long-term economic value for farmers, businesses, suppliers and local communities.”

One of the highlighted investments includes a new automated cooked chicken production line at the Cargill poultry processing plant in Saraburi, Thailand, which is expected to be completed in 2028.

At the facility, the company plans to make technological upgrades to state-of-the-art machinery and integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its data processing. The cooked poultry products from Thailand remain a strategic poultry export hub for Japan, Europe, Asia and North America. With this expansion, Cargill’s total cooked volume is expected to increase to approximately 160,000 tonnes, generating a total of THB 25 billion ($744 million) in export value for Thailand annually and creating more than 300 jobs.

Along with the poultry production upgrades, Cargill will construct a new 30,000-tonne grain silo in Thailand to enhance raw material storage capacity and grain procurement. The facility is expected to be completed by early 2027.

For its business in the Philippines, Cargill plans to make poultry investments, including a feed mill with production capacity of 190,000 tonnes annually. The new project is expected to be completed by late 2027 and generate more than 100 jobs, according to the company.

Cargill also plans to expand its network of hatcheries, breeder and broiler farms to work on supply and cost efficiencies to better serve domestic foodservice customers.

Ryan McCarthy is the digital media editor for MEAT+POULTRY. He has been at Sosland Publishing Company since 2016, covering the industry and managing the digital media channels of the publication. He also writes and edits web stories, images, videos and podcasts about the meat industry. McCarthy has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.

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