Tyson Plans Poultry Expansion in China

SPRINGDALE, Ark. ¯ Tyson Foods plans to expand its poultry business in China through a joint venture with a Chinese poultry company, said Richard Bond, president and chief executive officer.

Bond said Tyson has signed a deal to work with Jiangsu Jinghai Poultry Industry Co., a Chinese poultry breeding company, to raise and process chicken under the Tyson brand. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Tyson will have a 70 percent ownership stake in the business.

Tyson and Jiangsu Jinghai will build a fully integrated poultry operation in Haiman City in the Jiangsu Province near Shanghai. The business will be called "Jiangsu Tyson Foods" and include development of live chicken operations and a chicken processing plant.

"Demand for high-quality, fresh chicken in China is growing faster than the existing domestic supply," Bond said. "We intend to help meet this need by becoming the first producer to deliver brand name, high-quality fresh chicken to consumers in the eastern China market."

The two companies plan to break ground for the processing plant as soon as Chinese government approvals are granted. Officials expect operations to begin in 2009.

Products from the processing plant will be sold to retailers serving the Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, which have a combined population of 139 million people.

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