Ajinomoto forms joint venture company

Ajinomoto Co. Inc.’s subsidiary Ajinomoto Co. Ltd. will form a joint venture company, Itoham Betagro Foods Co. Ltd., with Itoham Foods Inc., Betagro Public Co. Ltd. and Hoei Bussan Co. Ltd. on March 6 to process and sell ham and sausage.
Through this joint venture, the Ajinomoto Group expects to have an advantage in procurement of meat and other raw ingredients for its seasonings and processed food businesses. The joint venture also plans to import Rockdale Beef, a premium brand of beef from cattle raised by Itoham in Australia, and sell it primarily to the retail and restaurant markets in Thailand. Ajinomoto and Itoham formed a business alliance in May 2008, and the two companies have since studied ways to expand business by complementing and taking advantage of their mutual business strengths.
This joint venture agreement is a part of that effort, said the companies. Betagro is a major livestock raising and processing company with swine and poultry production operations in Thailand, and it already conducts a joint venture with the Ajinomoto Group in pork and poultry processing and frozen foods.