Meat + Poultry - September 2010 - 26

TYSON FOODS

"We have a tremendous group of talented folks in our Discovery Center. They take those insights and find ways to extend shelf-life,
reduce sodium and more." -- Donnie Smith (Photo courtesy of Tyson Foods)

recent years offering the right climate
for poultry production, a large population, ample labor force, access to
corn and soybean meal, a cost of production advantage and an emerging
middle class.
Tyson has been in China since
2001 with Tyson Da Long, a small
chicken further-processing joint
venture. The Chinese market, with
a population of 1.3 billion and chain
restaurants opening at a rate of one
every 18 hours, needs more poultry production. Annual per capita
meat consumption in China is about

"God gave us two ears
and one mouth for a
reason...we listen to
what consumers are
telling us and what our
customers' needs are."
20 lbs. per person, compared to 89
lbs. in the U.S., according to Tyson. If consumption increased by
only 10 lbs. per person, it would be
equal to Tyson's total annual U.S.
production. Tyson established Jiangsu Tyson Foods in 2008 to produce
fresh chicken sold under the Tyson
brand for the Shanghai retail market.
In 2009, Tyson entered another joint
venture, Shandong Tyson Xinchang
Foods, a fully integrated chicken
and duck operation. This business

will have a production capacity of
more than 400,000 birds per day
and further-processing operations
with export certifications for Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe.
In 2008, Tyson also acquired three
poultry companies in southern Brazil.
Each will be vertically integrated and
supply domestic growth in addition to
serving as an export platform to Europe and other markets. By combining these three companies into Tyson
do Brazil, the company has created an
operation with modern technology and
an experienced management team.
The production capacity of Tyson
do Brazil is approximately 800,000
chickens per day, making Tyson one
of the top producers in Brazil.
India is the third key location
targeted for Tyson's international
growth. With a population of more
than one billion people, per capita
chicken consumption is less than 5
lbs. a year. Its annual growth rate of
more than 10 percent is among the
highest in the world.
In 2008, Tyson acquired majority
ownership of one of India's leading
branded chicken companies. Serving
the foodservice market, Godrej Tyson Foods also produces retail fresh
chicken under the Real Good Chicken
brand and further-processed chicken
under the Yummiez brand. Combined
production of the two plants in Mumbai and Bangalore is approximately

26 * Meat&Poultry * September 2010 * www.MeatPoultry.com

60,000 chickens per day. Tyson plans
to expand the production capacity of
the existing operations and build additional processing facilities to better
reach consumers in the northern and
eastern regions of the country.
Tyson, which has been selling
chicken in Mexico for 20 years, currently holds the third market-share
position in that country. It is No. 1 in
value-added chicken production and
has reached full capacity in its plants
in a market that continues growing.
Tyson's long-term strategy could
include acquiring or building more
assets to solidify Tyson de México's
market position in the northern part
of the county and expand into the
central region.
In 2007, Tyson entered a joint
venture to create the fi rst vertically integrated beef operation in Argentina. This country is the world's
fi fth- leading beef producer and the
second-leading beef exporter known
for its low beef production costs and
high-quality breeds of cattle.

New product development
In a tough economy, retail and foodservice customers always look for ways
to create value for their customers and
drive their business, Smith said. "If
I had to use a word to describe what
most of our R&D activity has been
around, it would be driving value," he
added. "This may involve portion size,

Meat + Poultry - September 2010

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