Cargill Joy Poultry Meats Production, Inc. (C-Joy), a joint venture between Cargill and Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), opened the biggest poultry packing facility in the Philippine islands on December 5. The Santo Tomas, Batangas-based plant has capacity to process 45 million chickens per year to meet growing consumer demand for fried chicken and other value-added poultry products throughout the republic.
Jollibee is the western Pacific Ocean country’s biggest operator of fast food restaurants and other foodservice outlets, with more than 2,500 outlets nationwide. In business since 1978, its menu features burgers, hot dogs, french fries, corn, noodles, rice meals, breakfast dishes and desserts in addition to chicken.
Company executives, the Jollibee mascot, politicians from the Philippines and US Ambassador Sung Kim (third from left) appropriately celebrate the inauguration of the C-Joy poultry processing plant with tasty fried chicken in hand.The factory investment, which underscores C-Joy’s commitment to provide JFC brands in the Philippines with convenient, safe and affordable chicken products, was celebrated in the presence of a number of VIPs. Among them were Batangas 3rd District Congresswoman Ma. Theresa Collantes, Sto. Tomas Mayor Edna Sanchez, and Sung Kim, the United States Ambassador to the Philippines.
During the official inauguration, Paul Fullbright, president and chief executive officer of C-Joy, remarked: “We are bringing protein to the tables of families across the Philippines. Cargill and Jollibee came together to start this plant because of our common commitment to the highest standards in product quality and food safety.”
C-Joy is partnering with local poultry farmers in Batangas and nearby provinces to supply birds to the new facility. Members of the farming community expressed excitement at the income generating opportunities and highlighted eagerness to provide chicken to JFC.
Mayor Sanchez welcomed the investment from Cargill and Jollibee and highlighted the positive contribution it will have on local communities in Sto. Tomas, the province of Batangas and nearby provinces, bolstering development of the local economy.
“We hope that this plant will eventually provide and augment work and business opportunities to poultry growers, allied services and qualified Tomasinos alike,” she said. “We are looking forward to a more effective and enhanced partnership between this municipality and soon to be city of Sto. Tomas and C-Joy in providing high quality and safe food products and most prominently in improving the general welfare of the community.”
United States Ambassador Kim views the continued investments from Cargill as an example of ongoing strength of the enduring economic relationship between the United States and the Philippines. Cargill has been active in the Philippines since 1948, when it established its first presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We are proud that US companies like Cargill make investments that strengthen the economic partnership between our two countries and contribute to the economic development of the Philippines by providing livelihood opportunities, particularly in rural areas,” said Kim.
JFC Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Tanmantiong gave the following statement, echoing comments he made in May of 2016 when his company and Cargill entered into an agreement to form a joint venture to build and operate the poultry processing plant:
“We partnered with Cargill to deliver high quality chicken products through their technology and quality standards. This partnership will meaningfully benefit our customers, our operations as well as the overall Philippine food industry. We will continue to maintain our strong relationship with key chicken suppliers in the country and look forward to sustained, long-term supply arrangements with them as our businesses grow together.”
About Cargill and JFC
Employing approximately 155,000 people in 70 countries, Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to customers worldwide.
The JFC group of companies is one of the largest buyers of chicken in the Philippines. Its Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking, Greenwich and Burger King franchises sell huge volumes of chicken products supplied by a distribution chain that includes 13 commissaries. At last count, it was operating 2,528 restaurants in the country, including: 939 Jollibee outlets, 457 Chowking outlets, 237 Greenwich outlets, 378 Red Ribbon units, 455 Mang Inasal eateries and 62 Burger King restaurants.
Beyond the Philippines, JFC currently operates 655 stores in East Asia, the Middle East and USA: Yonghe King (China), 321; Hong Zhuang Yuan (China), 40; San Pin Wang (China), 59; Dunkin’ Donuts (China), 4; Jollibee 151 (USA 33, Vietnam 79, Brunei 14, Saudi Arabia 10, Qatar 2, Kuwait 4, Hong Kong 1, Singapore 4, Bahrain 1 and UAE 3); Red Ribbon in the USA 33; Chowking 44 (USA 16, UAE, 20, Qatar 4, Oman 2, Kuwait 1 and Saudi Arabia 1); Jinja Bar (USA) 3.
JFC also has joint venture stakes in 557 stores in Asia, Australia and the USA that include Highlands Coffee and Po to Hotpot and Smashburger.
