As part of a series of long-term investments in China, the Minnesota-based agri-giant announced that it was making a $40m greenfield investment in a feed premix plant in Yichun in the Jiangxi Province.
“The plant will serve as Cargill’s flagship premix and young animal nutrition plant in China, covering an area of nearly 48,000 square meters,” a company spokesperson added.
Cargill is interested in playing a role as China’s feed and livestock producers modernize and secure a “sustainable and safe supply of animal protein.”
The company said it was encouraged by the resilience and entrepreneurship of China’s agricultural sector and that it has high confidence in the industry’s future.
It also announced that it is making a $112m investment in a corn processing facility in the Jilin province in China.
The company said that set of investments is intended to build on the work it undertook in China in 2018 to grow its agricultural supply chain, animal protein business and starches and sweeteners.
Feed production, developments in China
The premix facility is anticipated to be on stream by December 2020, the spokesperson said.
“The facility will include several specialized production lines to meet different customer requirements, featuring equipment from world-renowned suppliers,” she said. “There is a special production line for antibiotic growth promoter (AGP)-free solutions, using Cargill’s advanced technologies.”
“Advanced processing technology for young animal nutrition diets will enhance protein digestibility, improving feed intake and daily weight gain,” she added.
The site has an annual production capacity of about 120,000 tons of premix along with 60,000 tons of specialized young animal feed, the company reported.
“This new plant will focus specifically on young animal nutrition products for swine,” the spokesperson added.
The upcoming facility is set to make use of high levels of automation and strong quality systems intended to “ensure the accuracy, efficiency and consistency in production processes,” she said.
“The use of advanced barcoding technology and record management systems will offer end-to-end traceability from raw material to finished products – assuring safety and security through the supply chain,” she said.
“Biosecurity measures will be designed into the facility, including disinfection stations, and physical segregation of production zones.”
Expanding Cargill’s global premix footprint
Along with the recent investments in China, Cargill has been investing in India and Jordan.
The company opened a new pre-mix facility in Jordan in mid-April to support livestock producers both in that country and throughout the Middle East.
The premix facility is focused on work with producers in the poultry, dairy and aqua sectors, according to company information. It will generate about 65,000 metric tons of premix annually and is set to manufacture several products including premixes, concentrates and feed additives.
Cargill also invested about $20m in a new production facility in India in February. The premix facility is anticipated to fill market needs in the region and support some export production as well.
