Frankies Chicken Processing Factory celebrates successful trial run

By Staff Reporters

APIA, SAMOA – 16 JUNE 2023: The Minister of Agriculture, STEC (and the Samoa Exports Authority),  Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt, visited the initial commissioning of the Frankie Chicken Broiler Processing Factory at STEC Mulifanua on Thursday 8^th June 2023.

The Processing facility is one of the initiatives supported and promoted by the Samoa Export Authority – which is now in the process of being amalgamated with the Samoa Trust Estates – as directed by the Cabinet in February 2023.

The Chairman of the Samoa Export Authority Steering Committee, Tagaloa Eddie Wilson and members Papalii Panoa Tavita Moala, the Acting CEO of STEC – Natasha Kolose and Afoa Kolone Vaai o KVA Consult also attended the plant commissioning.

The Managing Director of the Frankie Group, Pitovaomaiana May Cai welcomed the Minister and Committee members and showed them the new plant’s full operation from live broiler through to cleaning, processing and preparing of the chickens right up to the packaging stage, ready for the market. The Frankie facility can process 1000 birds per hour from live to packaging.

The Minister of Agriculture, Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao with the Managing Director of Frankies Company – Pitovaomanaia May Cai and Project Consultants – Papalii Tavita Moala, Afoa Kolone Vaai of KVA Consult, Chair of the Samoa Export Authority Steering Committee, Tagaloa Eddie Wilson and project technical staff.

The Minister thanked Pitovaomanaia & Staff who were assisted by Papalii Panoa and Afoa Kolone Vaai of KVA Consult in developing the project with support from the Samoa Export Steering committee. The factory is expected to be in  full operation in August tis year.

Working through the $1m Village Development Project
According to the Minister, the aim of the project is to provide support for the $1m Village Development Project and for rural communities who will be encouraged to raise local chicken and supplying them to facilities such as the Frankie Processing Factory and have them ready for market and generate immediate income.

The Chairperson of the Export Authority Steering Committee, Tagaloa Eddie Wilson is excited about the project that aims to foster, promote and support the development of similar processing facilities at STEC/Mulifanua and the whole country, to provide ready market for farmers and rural communities, and increase exports for Samoa.

Samoa currently imports 1,000 Metric Tonnes of Chicken every month on average which equates to approximately a trade worth $60m per annum.

The cleaned chickens enter the processing phase before packaging.

The Frankie Processing project is one of many to follow that will not only increase agriculture value addition, but also enhance exports to neighboring and regional markets.

The Frankie Processing facility conforms to international food safety standards. The Export Authority aims to assist development of such facilities as well as local manufacturers & exporters to have access to facilities to increase agricultural supplies; enhance and build capacity; as well as assist in enabling providers with international Certification (HACCP) as well as bio security compliance in the export markets.

The successful trial of Frankies Chicken Slaughter and Processing Factory provides a number of opportunities for the local poultry farmers to feed the existing market.

This also opens the need for Samoa to invest in a Hatchery to produce chickens regularly to feed the factory and also the need for a Feedmill to produce feed not only for chickens but other livestock such as pigs, sheep and cattle.

This is a key element of the vision to establish the Samoa Export Authority, to utilize land under STEC for partnership projects with the Private Sector to increase agriculture processing; value addition & export products in the Government’s drive for import substitution by increasing exports.