Asian investments in western pigs.

It was announced last April that Thai based Charoen Pokphand Group had entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with Canadian pork producer HyLife to purchase 50,1% of the company’s shares for 370 M USD, with Japan’s Itochu continuing to own 49,9% of the remaining shares.

CP Foods is a diversified transnational conglomerate that consists of three core businesses that operate in the agri-food industry, retail and distribution and telecommunications, as well as involved in 10 other industries like finance, real estate, pharmacy and machining. Its business covers more than 100 countries with more than 350 000 employees around the world. CP group has up to 800 000 sows globally, the Group’s revenue from the agri-food sector totaled 5,6 million USD, with 65% coming from China and 35% from Thailand and Vietnam. In 2018, CP China produced 2.8 million hogs mainly from Hubei, Henan and Shanxi provinces. CP group is world’s largest animal feed company and sixth largest poultry company.

The purchase is the latest overseas acquisition for CPF, which bought US frozen-food producer Bellisio Parent LLC for 1 billion USD in 2016.

Headquartered in the town La Broquerie (Manitoba, Canada) and with a total of 2500 employees, HyLife has businesses including feed manufacturing, pig production (80 000 sows ; 2,3 million hogs), and distribution of pork products in more than 20 countries, with processing plants in Canada and Mexico. Canada exports 70% of pork meat produced in the country.

Biggest acquisition in the pig industry was in 2013 when Chinese WH Group acquired, for 7,1 billion USD, the Virginia based Smithfield group. It remains the largest purchase of an American firm by a Chinese company. With global headquarters in Hong-Kong, WH is the world’s largest pork producer and processor with leading positions in China (Shuanghui) and USA (Smithfield). They are present in Europe with several processing plants in Eastern countries and local brands like Kretschmar, Stegeman, Aoste, Cochonou and Justin Bridou.