KUALA LUMPUR (May 24): Malayan Flour Mills Bhd (MFM) is keen to partner with other companies, as it seeks to establish a solid foothold in the downstream segment of its poultry integration segment. 

Group chairman Tan Sri Arshad Ayub said partnering with another organisation may open up opportunities for MFM to export its processed poultry products overseas.

“We have to look for partners or mergers. I want to see whether we can develop the downstream products,” he told reporters after the group’s annual general meeting today. 

“What we have not done is the export of our protein products. This is a very strong opportunity, especially because we have the halal label for our products. So why not go to the Middle East? We have not gone into the Middle East, nor have we gone into Singapore. So there is that opportunity,” Arshad said. 

Earlier this year, MFM embarked on an expansion plan to increase the group’s capacity. Among others, it is spending about RM550 million for a new primary procession plant which will have a capacity of processing 240,000 birds a day.   
 
“We hope that the plant will be ready by the fourth quarter of this year,” Arshad added. 

The group’s existing plant is slaughtering about 80,000 birds a day, which is already the maximum capacity, said MFM managing director Teh Wee Chye. The additional capacity will help the group go further downstream in the food processing business, which offers wider profit margin, he said.  

“We believe our businesses are well-positioned for future growth, particularly in the poultry integration segment, where we are investing for the future, both in the upgrading of the processing plant, as well as modernising the farming practices,” he said. 

“We see the growth in poultry as a major protein source. Per capita consumption of poultry meat is high in Malaysia, over 50 kg [a year], and is still growing. So we see that is where we can utilise our growth,” Teh added.