Tyson Foods purchases Indian poultry processor

Arkansas Business, July 7, 2008 by Robert Bell

Tyson Foods Inc. is making another move into an emerging market. The company has bought 51 percent of Mumbai, India-based Godrej Foods Inc., a subsidiary of Godrej Agrovet Ltd.

The new venture is called Godrej Tyson Foods and is expected to reach initial annual sales of $50 million. The deal includes two chicken processing plants in Mumbai and Bangalore, which handle a combined output of 60,000 birds a day with 1,000 employees.

"India has a population of more than 1.1 billion people, and while per capita chicken consumption there is currently less than five pounds a year, its annual growth rate of more than 10 percent is among the highest in the world," Rick Greubel, group vice president and international president for Tyson Foods, said in a news release Last month, Tyson said it was selling Lakeside Farm Industries Ltd. at Brooks, Alberta, Canada, to XL Foods Inc., in a deal worth about $107 million.