The export drive has led to it investing more than £22M in upgrading its Ashton and Spalding facilities, a project which is now complete. A further £15M is being invested at its Westerleigh site in Gloucestershire, with the aim of finishing that work this summer.
Tulip said it hoped the cash injection would enable it to increase exports to China and Hong Kong by 25%, from 12,000t in 2013 to more than 15,000t this year.
Tulip started exporting pork products to China in 2012, following a successful UK trade mission in 2011. That visit culminated in it signing a landmark deal in May 2012, worth approximately £50M to the UK's pork export sector.
‘Enormous future growth’
“We are all very excited by the opportunity the Chinese market offers the Tulip business,” said Tulip ceo Chris Thomas. “We already export over 41,000t of pig meat globally, however, we see potential for enormous future growth in the Chinese market.
“We have and are continuing to invest in our UK processing operation to meet the demands of our ambitious growth plans for our export business. We believe this will allow additional facilities to gain approval from China during 2014.”
Andrew Saunders, agriculture director at Tulip, added: “Last year's trade delegation, which built on the enormous amount of work already undertaken by British Pig Executive and DEFRA [Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs], has really cleared the way for UK companies to enhance access to the Chinese market.
‘Increasing volume and mix’
“Having established good links of our own we can now look at increasing both the volume and the mix of product we currently supply ...”
Tulip, which is owned by The Danish Crown group, the world’s largest pork producer and biggest exporter of pork in the world, has 17 sites across the UK and employs over 8,000 people. It makes a wide range of pork products for top supermarkets and foodservice customers.
It exports a range of up to 16 products including pork tongues, heads and tailbones, and is close to agreeing the supply of pig trotters to add to its expanding portfolio.
- Watch this space for an exclusive interview with Tulip ceo Chris Thomas on growth plans for the business.