CJ Cheiljedang breaks ground on China plant

CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's leading food manufacturer, said Sunday that it began construction on its new plant in China that will be used to produce lysine, threonine and other food components. CJ plans to spend US$400 million on the plant in Shenyang, located in northeast China, and complete it before July of next year, the company said in a statement. Once completed, the Shenyang factory will sharply increase CJ's production capacity in China, helping the Korean company to reduce costs and expand its presence in the world's most populous market. The plant will have an annual capacity of 10 tons of lysine, 5 tons of threonine and 3,000 tons of nucleic acid, a seasoning material, it said. The new factory also represents CJ's commitment to the bio industry, which develops food additives, seed plants, and others from microorganisms and plants. The company is eyeing 2 trillion won (US$1.84 billion) in annual sales from the bio area in 2013, up from 1 trillion won last year. It also aims to pocket at least 20 percent of annual revenues as operating profit, it said.