ITOCHU acquires 33.4% stake in Canadian pork processor HyLife

Japanese trading house ITOCHU has acquired a 33.4% stake in HyLife Group, a pork processor based in La Broquerie, Manitoba, Canada, for JPY5bn ($57.1m).

HyLife operates an integrated pork production system in Manitoba – it is involved in genetics, live production, feed mill and pork processing.

The company, which has more than 1,500 employees, owns a pork processing plant, feed mill facilities, transportation fleets, genetics laboratories, and a manure management firm.

It supplies pork to markets across the world and also offers value-added speciality pork to the Japanese market, catering to customer requirements through differentiated feeding.

ITOCHU plans to use its existing marketing network in China and Japan to increase the sales of HyLife’s pork.

In China, ITOCHU plans to initiate technical exchanges in the field of pig production with its partner Longda Foodstuff Group, in order to strengthen HyLife’s business.

ITOCHU, which is involved in several business including textiles, machinery, chemicals and food, expects to post a net profit of JPY280bn ($3.6bn) in the year ending March 2013, of which about 15% is forecast to come from its food business, and 40% from its metals division.

In September 2012, ITOCHU entered into an agreement to acquire the worldwide packaged foods business and Asia fresh produce business of US-based Dole Food for $1.68bn in cash.

Following the completion of the deal, ITOCHU will have exclusive rights to use the Dole trademark on packaged food products worldwide and on fresh produce in Asia, Australia and New Zealand.