CP Cambodia to increase feed output by 20%

Cambodia's largest animal feed producer CP Cambodia announced Thursday (Feb 4) it would increase production by 20% this year in an effort to boost local meat production.

Wittaya Kreangkriwit, vice president of CP Cambodia, said the company would produce 144,000 tonnes of animal feed to sell throughout Cambodia at US$500 per tonne.

He said the company wants to encourage more farmers to raise animals so that Cambodia's meat imports can be reduced.

In 2009, the company, which is located in Phnom Penh, sold 120,000 tonnes of animal feed at US$460 per tonne. Total sales were worth US$55.2 million. This year, the company estimates sales to reach US$72 million.

Kao Phal, director of the Department of Animal Health and Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said increasing animal feed would lead to a rise in domestic meat production.

He said many farmers are raising pigs, chickens and ducks on both subsistence and commercial farms because of high demand, and that animal feed will play a key role in the future in the expanding of animal farms to support meat exports.

Yang Saing Koma, president of the Cambodian Centre for Study and Development in Agriculture, said pig and chicken farming in particular are becoming more commercial.