Cargill Commits $130 Million to Expand Asian Poultry Production
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Cargill will spend more than $130 million over the next two years to expand its poultry processing and feed manufacturing operations in Thailand and the Philippines.
The investment will lift the company’s cooked poultry output in Thailand to 160,000 metric tons annually. It targets THB 25 billion in yearly export revenue.
Automation in Saraburi and Thai Storage Expansion
At its central processing plant in Saraburi, Thailand, Cargill is installing an automated cooked chicken production line. The system uses robotic machinery and artificial intelligence to process real-time sorting and quality data. Work will run through 2028. It will create more than 300 manufacturing jobs in the province.
Upstream feed operations in Thailand get direct support through a new 30,000 metric ton grain silo. Ground was broken on the facility this year, with commissioning planned for early 2027. The extra holding capacity lets the company buy grain outside standard harvest cycles. That buffers feed costs against seasonal price swings.
Feed Milling and Retail Brands in the Philippines
Across the Philippines, capital spending focuses on domestic feed supply and farm networks. An animal feed mill with an annual capacity of 190,000 metric tons is now under construction for late 2027 completion. It will employ over 100 workers and supply commercial producers nationwide.
Beyond the mill, capacity is expanding across local hatcheries, breeder facilities and broiler farms. The extra volume supplies contracted foodservice buyers. It also stocks Tip-Top, Cargill’s retail chicken brand sold in Philippine supermarkets.
“It will create more than 300 manufacturing jobs in the province.”
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.
Watcharapon Prasopkiatpoka, vice president and managing director for Cargill’s Asia-Pacific poultry business, oversees the program across both markets.
Supply Chain Realignment for Export Markets
Two distinct strategies define the regional split. Thailand serves as the primary export base, shipping cooked poultry to supermarkets and restaurants in Japan, Europe, North America and Asia. Automation at Saraburi addresses industrial labor shortages in central Thailand. It also enforces consistent portion control for strict overseas food safety audits.
Philippine investments target domestic food security and price stability rather than exports. Local integrators face frequent raw material bottlenecks and volatile feed prices. Controlling the feed mill and hatchery network shields Cargill from spot-market disruptions. That gives its retail pack business a cost edge over smaller domestic processors.
Earlier Footprint and Regional Competition
Global agribusiness groups have spent recent years retooling Southeast Asian protein units around processed, cooked meat instead of raw commodities. Thailand became a processing hub through bilateral sanitary agreements with the European Union and Japan. That sparked heavy capital spending from regional competitors CP Foods and Betagro.
Cargill previously focused regional spending on standalone feed mills and local joint ventures. This capital plan shifts that focus toward integrated infrastructure. It links grain storage directly to automated cooking lines.
Work on the Thai grain silo wraps up in early 2027. The Philippine feed mill follows late that year, and the Saraburi processing line comes online in 2028.