Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc has joined with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to promote the sales of its hygienic pork to 400 schools in the capital.

The collaboration aims at providing quality meat to the lunch programmes of BMA-run schools owned by the BMA at prices 5% lower than market rates.

The co-operation also covers co-branding of CP and Bangkok Green label on the same package, according to Narai Chimmi, vice-president of Vee Food Products Co, a CPF subsidiary.

The pork sales would start sometime this month, initially to 100 schools, with a volume estimated at 5,000 kilogrammes per day. The company expects to earn about 10 million baht from the project.

According to Mr Narai, the pork is produced from CPF's processing plant in Chachoengsao which has a full capacity to process 1,800 pigs per day.

Today, it processes about 1,450 pigs at the plant each day. Half its production supplies CPF processing units to make sausages, ham and bacon and the rest goes to local food services companies and supermarkets, and for export.

Part of the meat is also supplied to the company's cooked pork products unit, from which CPF targets 150 million baht in sales this year.

 According to Suphat Sritanatorn, senior vice-president of CPF, Thailand's frozen ready-to-eat product segment is worth about 1.5 billion baht, with about 14% growth from the previous year and CPF now has a 25% market share.

He said that the company was now supplying ready-to-eat pork wontons, pork rolls and soya pork to the market.

CPF shares closed yesterday on the SET at 3.60 baht, down 26 satang, in trade worth 50.33 million baht.

Bangkok Post, October 9, 2008