The company said that it now owns 51 percent of Godrej, a subsidiary of Godrej Agrovet Ltd. The joint venture between Godrej Agrovet and Tyson will be called Godrej Tyson Foods. Annual sales for the venture are initially expected to be in the range of $50 million and are anticipated to grow as operations are expanded.

The venture includes one chicken processing facility in Mumbai, in western India, and another in Bangalore, in the southern part of the country. The two plants have a combined production capacity of 60,000 birds per day and have approximately 1,000 contract production workers. 

“Poultry production and consumption is growing in India and we believe the timing is right for us to bring our expertise and resources to this emerging market,” said Rick Greubel, group vice president and international president for Tyson. “India has population of more than 1.1 billion people, and while per capita chicken consumption there is currently less than five pounds a year, its annual growth rate of more than 10 percent is among the highest in the world.”

Source: Tyson Foods Inc.