Cargill will build bio-plastics plant in Thailand

America’s Cargill will partner with Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) to build a $600 million bio-polymers production plant in the Kingdom that will make plastics from sugar cane as manufacturing in Thailand continues to go green.
The companies will together build the plant at the Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex, an industrial estate in central Thailand that is dedicated to Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) industries, a growing and important component of Thailand’s economic future.
“The BCG economic model can improve security in terms of health, food supply, energy, income generation and job creation,” said Suvit Maesincee, former Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
The plant will be operational in 2024 and produce polylactic acid under the trademark of Ingeo™. According to the companies, Ingeo is biodegradable, has a low carbon footprint, and can be used as a raw material for producing food packages, diapers, and household appliances.
The new factory will use about 110,000 tons of sugar cane as a raw material annually and its production capacity was set at 75,000 tons of biopolymer per year.
Thailand is the second-largest exporter of sugar in the world. The Kingdom’s agricultural sector is a national strength and can provide an abundance of raw materials to support BCG industries. Suvit urged the government to focus on BCG industries because they could help jump start the Thai economy post COVID-19.
“The BCG economic model can improve security in terms of health, food supply, energy, income generation and job creation. BCG can also create development links from local to global, as well as align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” Suvit said.
He said Thailand’s BCG development should focus on five sectors: food, healthcare, sustainable energy, tourism and the creative economy.
Photo courtesy of https://www.pttgcgroup.com/