Investment NewsOatly’s plant-based oat-milk drinks for exportto Asian market including to the huge Chinamarket.The project is supported by Singapore’sEconomic Development Board (EDB).The new facility will have an annual capacityof 60 million litres of oat milk. Production isslated to commence in 2 nd half of 2021 withoats sourced from Sweden.Plant-based dairy is a growing segment andhas raised much interest by consumers whoadopt a vegan or flexitarian diet.Oatly manufactures a range of oat-basedproducts such as drinks, yogurts, spreads,cream, custard and ice cream sold in Europe,the US, Asia and Australia.Hay Dairies rejects landawarded for goat farm due to‘unmanageable’ costsAsia Food & Beverages 10GOAT MILKSingapore’s one and only Goat Farm and milkproducer, Hay Dairies has turned down a landplot in Lim Chu Kang after winning a tenderfor the land, citing construction costs drivenup by the COVID-19 pandemic and a leaseinsufficient to cover the cost of its planned hightechfarm.In April, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA)had awarded the 10,000 sq.metre plot ofland to SG Quail for a bid price of S$420,000(US$315,000) after Hay Dairies withdrewfrom the tender. SG Quail is a recently formedcompany involved in poultry and hatcheries.Earlier, Hay Dairies had won the tender with abid of S$500,000 (US$375,000).Hay Dairies’ existing farm, which producesgoat milk from its more than 800 goats, islocated at Lim Chu Kang Lane 4.Hay Dairies owner, Leon Hay, said that thepandemic had driven up the construction costsof 2 new planned farms by 30%. Leon said thatthe estimated construction cost for both plotsof land was close to S$30 million (US$22.5million) and with only a 20-year lease for bothplots of land, the tenure is not long enough torecover the cost of investment. Leon added thateven with the new government fund to supportlocal farms in adopting technology, it will not besufficient to cover the costs of the planned farm.The co-funding by the government for goatfarm like Hay Dairies is 50% and up to S$700,000(US$525,000). In contrast, for vegetable andgreen investments, the co-funding under theAgri-Food Cluster Transformation (Act) Fund ishigher at 70% and up to S$4.5 million (US$3.38million).The fund is open for applications later thisyear as part of Singapore’s push to increasefarming using modern technology to meet thecountry’s ‘30 by 30’ target i.e. to produce 30%of its food demand by 2030.Leon will proceed with building the other plot ofland which it tendered, which will be operationalby 2023. Hay Dairies existing farm lease will berenewed till 2023, just before its eventual shiftto the new farm at Neo Tiew Road.THAILANDSEASONINGSEbara Foods to set up production,sales subsidiary in ThailandJapan’s Ebara Foods Industry Inc. willestablish a production and sales subsidiary inThailand in June 2021 to meet growing demandfor Japanese food in the ASEAN region.Its wholly owned subsidiary, Ebara SingaporePte Ltd., will establish Ebara Foods (Thailand)Co. in Bangkok with capital of Bt 130 million(US$4.2 million).The Thai arm will initially sell Ebara productsfor industrial use, according to an Ebaraspokesperson. No further information wasprovided on when food production will startlocally.Ebara has chosen Thailand as its newsubsidiary due to its favourable infrastructureand easy access to other ASEAN markets.With the new investment, Ebara Foods willsharply increase its Singapore subsidiary’scapital from the current S$650,000(US$489,000) to S$5.85 million (US$4.4million) in June. Established in 2018, EbaraSingapore sells seasonings and is engaged inthe trade business.PLANT-BASED MEATCharoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF)unveils ‘Meat Zero’ ambition to goglobalMajor pork and poultry producer, CharoenPokphand Foods PLC (CPF) has recentlyunveiled ‘Meat Zero’, its plant-based meat brandthat it claimed to feel, taste and appear like realmeat. Meat Zero products are affordable andavailable as ready-to-cook (RTC) or RTE foodproducts at 7-Eleven stores and modern retailchannels.CPF, as one of the leading food processors inSoutheast Asia, has also set a goal to expandits brand globally with an ambitious aim to bethe top alternative meat brand in Asia by 2022as well as the world’s Top 3 brand by 2026.Meat Zero brand will simultaneously penetratemarkets in Asia, Europe and the US takingadvantage of CPF’s worldwide customer basespanning more than 100 countries.With R&D efforts over the past 2 years andworking closely with renown experts fromthe US, Japan and Taiwan alongside foodscientists at Chulalongkorn University andMae Fah Luang University, CPF eventuallydiscovered the PLANT-TEC innovation thatcreates the perfect texture, taste, smell and feelof real meat.Prasit Boondoungprasert, CEO of CPFsaid, “Meat Zero is as tasty as real meatand consumers are barely able to tell if theyare eating plants or real meats thanks to theoutstanding achievement of [the] CPF R&Dcentre, which has worked closely with theworld’s leading research houses.”CPF will pursue the path to become a fullfledgedfood-tech company that responds to thefood needs of all consumer groups. CPF saidthe brand’s products contain both ‘high-fibreplant-based protein’ and is priced ‘relativelyclose’ to real meat.Consumers can buy RTE Meat Zero productswith affordable prices ranging from Bt 35 to 45(US$1.12 to $1.44) while uncooked (RTC) meatproducts like plant-based chicken nuggets,minced pork and crispy pork are priced atBt 69 (US$2.21). Meat Zero is definitely theaffordable option to consumers who want toswitch to healthier plant-based meat options.CANNABIS (CBD)Loxley enters hemp market asdistributor for Terpene flavour andrelated productsLoxley Public Co is tapping into the hempmarket after inking deals with NR InstantProduce PCL and Golden Triangle Health CoLtd (GTH) to become their terpene flavourdistributors.Terpenes are compounds found in plants suchas cannabis that give it distinct aromas andflavors which can find many applications in bothfood and non-food products.Suroj Lamsam, Loxley’s President and ChiefExecutive said that under the agreement, GTHwill be responsible for product procurement,including terpene flavours and products thatcontain terpene flavour as an ingredient.Loxley’s chemical business will distribute theseproducts and look to sell them to business-tobusiness(B2B) firms such as manufacturersfrom various industries.Loxley Trading will begin the distribution ofready-to-consume goods such as snacks orskincare products with terpene flavour via itsdistribution network across the country in orderto reach consumers.At the same time, NRF will develop its ownproducts with terpene flavours, which LoxleyTrading will also help to distribute. The companyis expecting to launch a terpene water productin the market this year.To ensure it has a sufficient supply, JulpasKruesopon, Founder of Golden TriangleHealth Co, said that NRF, the parent companyof GTH had also formed a joint venture withTrue Terpenes from the US in April and startsupplying terpene flavours to customers acrossAsia, including Thailand.True Terpenes is a leading supplier of terpeneand currently offers over 30,000 terpene flavourformulas that can be used in various type offood products such as beverages, snacks,seasoning products, instant noodles as well asnon-food categories like shampoo.The Thai government has given companiesthe approval to use hemp for commercialpurposes at the end of last year. This led torising demand for hemp-based products.Dan Pathomvanich, CEO of NRF said terpeneflavour is a top 5 food trend with global demandgrowing at 10% annually. Dan said that ifrevenue from terpene flavours in Thailandreached Bt 100 million (US$3.2 million), thecompany will allocate Bt 50 million (US$1.6million) to set up a new factory to produceterpene flavour.His company has a target revenue of Bt 3billion (US$95.6 million) this year, mostly drivenby products with terpene flavours.VIETNAMANIMAL FEEDADM acquires animal feed premixproducer in VietnamWisium, part of ADM international feedpremix brand, is expanding in Vietnam withthe acquisition of Golden Farm Production &Commerce Company Limited (GF). Accordingto an ADM spokesperson, “Golden Farmproduces a complete range of vitamins andminerals premixes for swine, poultry, ruminants,fish, shrimp, frog and pets. Formulationsare standard or customised. There is also acomprehensive range of natural, nutritionalsolutions to improve animal performance.Combined with the offerings of ADM’s Wisiumbrand in Vietnam, producers will gain a completeoffering of macro and micro premix, nutritionalspecialties, WEAN UP piglet feed, and sciencebackedservices such as laboratory analysis.With the acquisition, Wisium also gainsaccess to GF facility in Long Khanh Dong Naiwhich meets international safety and qualitystandards.Wisium range of products were launched inVietnam not more than 2 years ago. FranoisFernandez, Vice President, Wisium Premix andServices said, “We’ve been expanding Wisiumcapabilities around the globe, and we areexcited to continue to invest across SoutheastAsia. Vietnam has the 5 th largest feed market inthe region. It is also one of the world’s top porkconsuming countries.”ADM now has strong presence in Vietnamwith 5 animal feed production sites namely 2 inBinh Duong Province, 1 in Ha Nam Province, 1in Dong Thap Province, and 1 more in Dong Naiwhich has just been acquired.Vietnam is one of the largest market inASEAN for the animal husbandry industry, andis expected to continue to grow and becomemore integrated and competitive. The recentAfrican Swine Fever (ASF) pandemic hasresulted in the sector transitioning to more largescale farming with better biosecurity measures.
11 Asia Food & Beverages