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Published on December 5, 2007

Betagro Group, one of the country's top three agro-industrial conglomerates, yesterday launched a state-of-the-art "e-traceability" system to enable consumers to check information on purchases.

Customers can obtain information about pork or chicken they purchase, including the breed, farm and slaughterhouse that the meat originated from, and also the feed mill and transportation system.

They can get the information at major supermarkets via kiosks called "spy on me", which is a major selling point for the group's S-Pure brand.

In response to consumer-health concerns, the S-Pure brand only uses premium pork and chicken. It offers customers export standard antibiotics-free meat.

Vanus Taepaisitphongse, Betagro's chief executive officer, said meat from its farms had been fed in a closed-system, pathogen-free environment.

"We can say that our closed-system farming is of the highest standard, not only in Thailand but the whole Asean region. We want to upgrade local food standards by providing consistently high-quality food," Vanus said.

The company plans to spend about Bt30 million to promote the S-Pure image.

Vasit Taepaisitphongse, executive vice president and group chief operating officer, said the group's average daily pork production used an average of 1,400 pigs. Of this total, 50 per cent is produced under the S-Pure brand and the remainder is exported.

As the group positions S-Pure as a premium-grade product, retail prices are 60 per cent higher than market prices, so marketing is aimed at leading retailers including Siam Paragon, The Emporium, Isetan, Jusco, UFM, Fuji Super, Villa Market, Golden Place and Lemon Farm.

In addition, the high-quality products are supplied to leading restaurant chains and five-star hotels.

"Sales of our high-quality meat has jumped more than 200 per cent during the past three years and we plan to expand this annually by an average of 30 per cent," he said.

Total sales value is Bt1.2 billion per year, of which Bt700 million is from the domestic market and the rest from exports, he added.

Vasit said the group planned to increase its range of hygienic products to items such as eggs to offer consumers a wider choice.

Achara Pongvutitham

 The Nation