Zhongpin begins trial production at two meat plants in China

Chinese meat and food processing company Zhongpin has begun trial production at its two new chilled and frozen pork products plants in the Jiangsu and Jilin provinces, China, after completing phase I in the construction process.

The company, which began construction of the plants in September 2010, will invest $63m and $61.5m in the Jiangsu and Jilin facilities, respectively.

The Jiangsu plant features a production facility, warehouse, and distribution centre, and the first phase of the plant will have an annual production capacity of 80,000 million tons of chilled and easy-to-cook pork products and 20,000 million tons of frozen pork.

The phase II of the plant will have an annual capacity to produce about 30,000 million tons of prepared pork products.

The Jilin plant features a slaughtering and processing facility, a low-temperature prepared pork facility, a logistics centre, and a research and development centre.

In the first phase, the Jilin plant will have an annual production capacity of 70,000 million tons for chilled pork and 25,000 million tons for frozen pork, while the second phase will see an annual production of 30,000 million tons of prepared pork products.

The phase II of Jiangsu and Jilin plants are expected to open in the third quarter of 2012, following which the company will cease production at its existing facility in Jilin province, which was taken on a three-year lease in December 2008.

The leased plant has an annual production capacity of 30,000 million tons of chilled and frozen pork.

The addition of the two phase I plants will boost Zhongpin’s annual capacity to 728,760 million tons for chilled and frozen pork, 126,000t for prepared pork products, 20,000t for pork oil, and 30,000t for vegetables and fruits.

 

Caption: Zhongpin will invest close to $125m in its two new meat processing facilities in China. Image courtesy of National Institutes of Health.