Danish Crown has announced that it will expand its abattoir in Blans, Denmark, in response to increased demand for its pork products in the Japanese market.
A new production line will be added at the facility as a result of the investment, which will create approximately 100 new jobs at the facility.
The production line will produce pork products specifically for Japanese consumers and restaurants, as Danish Crown anticipates that demand for its products will grow even further following the free trade agreement recently signed by the European Union and Japan.
Danish Crown’s exports to Japan accounted for approximately KRN3 billion ($488 million), and this expansion will aim to increase this total further.
Søren F. Eriksen, CEO of Danish Crown Pork said: “It’s great to be in a situation where we’re taking on new people, especially when we here are talking about permanent jobs, which are not affected by fluctuations in the supply of pigs.
“Our Japanese customers are crazy about a specific product based on minced pork, which we have sold to them for a few years.
“This means that we now need to hire more people to both debone fore-ends and run the actual production.
“Our Japanese customers are very interested in developing our trade. Today, the Japanese almost exclusively buy fresh meat, which they process and pack themselves.
“Several of our customers wish to change this and want us to handle as much of the processing as possible. If this becomes the case, we’ll need even more people.”
Danish Crown’s presence in the Asian market is growing, as the company’s subsidiary Tulip Food Group was granted permission to export its meat products to China earlier this year.
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