Jollibee, Cargill forge poultry deal

Homegrown fast-food chain Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has entered into a joint venture with American agribusiness giant Cargill to build and operate a poultry processing plant in Batangas, boosting its supply chain of dressed and marinated chicken.

The JFC group is one of the largest buyers of chicken in the Philippines.

Apart from flagship brand Jollibee, which sells the popular fried chicken “Chickenjoy,” its brands Mang Inasal, Chowking, Greenwich and Burger King franchise also sell a significant volume of chicken products.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, JFC said it had entered into an agreement with Cargill Philippines Inc. to create Cargill Joy Poultry Meats Production Inc. (CJPMPI) in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

This partnership is estimated to create around 1,000 new full-time jobs and develop new opportunities in the farming community in Batangas and nearby provinces as local poultry farmers are contracted to grow chicken to supply the requirements of the processing plant.

Cargill will hold a 70-percent stake in the venture while JFC will own the remaining 30 percent.

JFC will also have a 30-percent stake in the realty firm from which CJPMPI will lease the land on which the processing plant will be located.

JFC chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said in a press statement: “We partnered with Cargill to deliver high quality chicken products through Cargill’s technology and quality standards. The facility will provide JFC with dressed and marinated chicken to augment the chicken supply requirements of the growing needs of JFC brands.”

“This partnership will meaningfully benefit our customers, our operations as well as the overall Philippine food industry. We will continue to maintain our strong relationship with key chicken suppliers in the country and look forward to sustained long term supply arrangements with them as our businesses grow together,” Tanmantiong added.

JFC will invest P244.9 million for the 30-percent stake in the venture while Cargill will invest P571.5 million for 70 percent of CJPMPI.

JFC will also invest P15.2 million in its 30-percent stake in the realty firm from which CJPMPI will lease the land.

CJPMPI managing director Paul Fullbright said: “Cargill is making additional investments in the Philippines to participate in the robust growth of its consumer sector.  Cargill can contribute in further enhancing the quality of products of JFC brands for its customers at very competitive costs and raise the assurance of its chicken supply.”

Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services globally.  It has 149,000 employees in 70 countries.  It started doing business in the Philippines in 1947.

The JFC group operates a total of 3,158 stores worldwide, of which 2,506 are in the Philippines.