With a processing capacity of 45 million chickens per year, the plant is the largest in the Philippines and provides dressed and marinated chicken to meet the increased demand for JFC brands in the country. Cargill Joy also expects the plant to give opportunities to local poultry farmers in the island nation.
“We are bringing protein to families' tables 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,” said Paul Fullbright, president and CEO of C-Joy. “This is reflected in this new plant which harnesses technology and global experience to deliver tasty chicken products in an environment which is safe for our employees and is environmentally sustainable.”
Dignitaries including Batangas 3rd District Congresswoman Ma. Theresa Collantes, Sto. Tomas Mayor Edna Sanchez, and the United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim were present for the opening ceremony. JFC CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong was also in attendance and reinforced his position from the original plant announcement.
"We partnered with Cargill to deliver high-quality chicken products through Cargill's technology and quality standards,” Tanmantiong said in a statement. “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."
In May 2016, Cargill disclosed the terms of the agreement saying JFC will be the primary customer of the joint venture. By-products and other products that don’t meet JFC product specifications will be sold to other companies. Cargill will have a 70 percent stake in the joint venture, while JFC will have a 30 percent stake. Cargill will establish management and operations for the poultry plant.
Under the terms, JFC investment was Php244.9 million ($5.2 million) for 30 percent of Cargill Joy Poultry Meats Production. JFC invested Php15.2 million ($325,000) for 30 percent of Cargill Joy Poultry Realty, Inc., from which Cargill Joy Poultry Meats will lease the land on which the plant will be built.
JFC Group owns 3,600 stores worldwide. Additionally, the JFC Group of Companies is one of the largest buyers of chicken in the Philippines. Significant volumes of chicken are sold by the company’s Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking, Greenwich and Burger King franchises.
