CHANGGE CITY, Henan, China, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Zhongpin Inc. (Nasdaq: HOGS) (“Zhongpin”), a leading meat and food processing company in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), today announced that the Company commenced production at its new chilled and frozen pork facility in Yongcheng City, eastern Henan Province on January 3, 2009. With the addition of the Yongcheng facility, the Company has increased its annual production capacity for chilled and frozen pork to 498,760 metric tons.
Zhongpin began construction of the Yongcheng facility in the second half of 2007 with an investment of approximately $17.0 million. The new facility is located in Shangqiu, the main farm belt in eastern Henan Province and has a total annual production capacity of 80,000 metric tons. Approximately 75% of the facility's production capacity is dedicated to the production of chilled pork and 25% to the production of frozen pork. Zhongpin expects the new facility to achieve an over 60% utilization rate by the second quarter of 2009.
“We believe the opening of the Yongcheng facility is an important step for Zhongpin in expanding our production capacity and optimizing our product mix, which will enable us to significantly and rapidly increase our market share in eastern Henan Province and in the central and eastern parts of China. There is a strong demand for high-quality pork products in these regions due to their large and growing population bases. In addition, Henan Province has the second largest supply of hogs in China next to Sichuan Province, ensuring an ample source of hogs for our expansion,” commented Mr. Xianfu Zhu, CEO of Zhongpin Inc. “The Zhongpin brand has developed increasing popularity and demand due to its high quality, superior taste and nutritional product offerings. We are confident in our ability to quickly ramp up the facility’s utilization level and take full advantage of our sophisticated distribution network to expand our market share.”
About Zhongpin
Zhongpin is a meat and food processing company that specializes in pork and pork products, and fruits and vegetables, in the PRC. Its distribution network in the PRC spans 24 provinces and includes over 2,995 retail outlets. Zhongpin’s export markets include the European Union, Eastern Europe, Russia, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. For more information, contact CCG Investor Relations directly or go to Zhongpin’s website at http://www.zpfood.com .
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, without limitation, statements regarding our ability to prepare the Company for growth, the Company’s planned manufacturing capacity expansion in 2008 and predictions and guidance relating to the Company’s future financial performance. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs, but these projections also involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, which may include, but are not limited to, such factors as, unanticipated changes in product demand, interruptions in the supply of live pigs/raw pork, downturns in the Chinese economy, delivery delays, freezer facility malfunctions, poor performance of the retail distribution network, changes in applicable regulations, and other information detailed from time to time in the Company's filings and future filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.
For more information, please contact:
Warren Wang, Chief Financial Officer
Zhongpin Inc.
Tel: +86-10-82861788
Email: ir@zhongpin.com
Web: http://www.zpfood.com
Crocker Coulson, President
CCG Investor Relations
Tel: +1-646-213-1915
Email: crocker.coulson@ccgir.com
Web: http://www.ccgirasia.com
