Betagro Group, one of the country's largest agro-industrial businesses, is preparing to open a new sausage factory over the next few months to exploit growing export demand.

Nopporn Vayuchote, executive vice-president of Betagro Group, said the new factory in Lop Buri province was a co-investment between Betagro and the Japanese sausage manufacturer Itoham Foods. It will produce sausages only for export, with a capacity of 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes a month.

He did not disclose the investment budget and the size of the stake held in the joint venture by the Japanese firm.

The Itoham Betagro Food factory was constructed last year and awaits approval from Japan's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.

"The sausage export market is promising in the near term, as demand from overseas is higher and Japanese manufacturers are looking for new places for their production bases," he said.

Betagro operates two sausage factories in Samut Prakan and Lop Buri with combined production capacity of 3,300 tonnes a month. Capacity will top 6,000 tonnes a month with the new plant.

Betagro sells about 36,000 tonnes of sausages a year, with 3,000 tonnes for exports mainly to Japan and Singapore worth 1.5 billion baht. Domestic sales are estimated at 3.3 billion baht.

Domestic sausage consumption is growing given its comparatively cheaper prices than pork or chicken, he said.