The higher prices are consistent with the rise in demand for chilled and frozen pork as China approaches the start of the Chinese New Year on February 14, the company said.
The new plant's production capacity is 100,000 metric tons each year, of which 70% will be chilled pork and 30% will be frozen pork. With this addition, Zhongpin has an annual production capacity of 541,760 metric tons for chilled and frozen pork.
On January 21, 2010, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that China's GDP grew 8.7% in the year 2009 and 10.7% in the fourth quarter of 2009. China's Center for Forecasting Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported last week that it expects China's GDP to grow 11% in the first quarter 2010 and around 10% for the year 2010.
According to Zhongpin, higher GDP generally results in more jobs, higher income, and greater affordability for pork products. Hog and pork prices have been trending upward over the last two weeks, and it expects this is the turning point of the hog and pork prices in year 2010.
Considering all factors, the outlook for Zhongpin continues to be very encouraging for higher sales, profits, cash flow, and return on assets.
