UBE unveils its business direction for 2023, aiming to upgrade Thai cassava into a high-value product and be ready to transform into a full-fledged food tech company

Ms. Sureeyot Khowsurat, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of UBE, a Thailand’s leading manufacturer and distributor of processed cassava products and the management team have joined in the conference to announce the operating results for 2022 and the business direction for 2023, aiming to create broader growth according to the business concept of “UBEYOND”* to become a food tech company, driven by innovation based and corporate good governance practices to cover all sustainability dimensions.

Ms. Sureeyot said, “2022 is seen as the year when the global economic situation will gradually recover and domestic consumption will improve after the COVID-19 outbreak situation has receded, the demand for fuel grade ethanol is increasing from the travel and tourism sector, while the demand for industrial grade ethanol is still continuing due to the measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus disease that still exists.

As for the tapioca starch business, the Company has made progress in selling high quality products in organic tapioca starch and cassava flour both domestically and internationally with the launch of new products under the Tasuko brand i.e., cassava flour batter mix in 2 flavors, 4 new flavors of cassava flour mix and a new flavor of brownie brittle. Organic farming business is still a good trend of growth, especially coffee products and other agricultural products, resulted to the 2022 business operation, the company has total revenue of 7,199.3 million baht, an increase of 3%, with a net profit of 329.2 million baht, an increase of 3% from 2021″.

For the business direction in 2023, it is still another year of challenges both from the world economy that is still slowing down and the price of cassava raw materials is still high caused from the decreased of cassava production resulted from natural disasters during the 3rd quarter of 2022. However, UBE still has a strong financial position and aiming for the goal of being a food tech company by the use of innovative technology in production and product development. According to the business concept of “UBEYOND” to drive the business towards wider growth in 3 areas, namely;

1. Beyond the challenges

• Strategic plan to create business growth, which are (1) Target to increase the sales share of tapioca starch business and new businesses within 3 years (2) Maintain the strength of the current businesses of the Group of Companies, as for the fuel grade ethanol, continue to push E20 as the primary oil fuel, together with promoting the use of industrial grade part by supporting for the liberalization of ethanol use in other industries such as pharmaceutical industry, food supplements, cosmetics.
  
  In the tapioca starch and cassava flour businesses, focus on research and development that meets customer needs to increase the variety of uses of cassava in various menus such as pasta, ramen. In the organic farming business, plans to continue to create growth in the coffee, organic rice and renewable energy businesses; and (3) to seek new business opportunities that will continue the growth of the original business or create new growth in the future.
  
  
• Financial strategy; in the short term will be an effective management of production costs and cash flow, development of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for efficient management of resources within the organization, while the long-term plan will be a utilization and efficient maximization of existing assets, diversification of investment into new businesses to maintain strength and increase competitiveness by investing in innovation, research & development.
  
  
• Ethanol business, an implementation of a strategic plan to maintain market share in fuel grade ethanol. Along with increasing production efficiency through the debottleneck project, including pushing for the liberalization of industrial grade ethanol to other industries.
  
  
• Tapioca Starch and Cassava Flour Business, focusing on presenting products in a format that can be used in a wider variety of applications to meet consumer health trends, emphasizing market expansion and opening up new markets for high value-added products, both in organic tapioca starch and cassava flour in the domestic market through the Tasuko brand and in the international market.

2. Beyond through Innovation; focusing on the creation of innovations related to the business activities of UBE and its subsidiaries, whether it is research on future food, biochemical research, and research on cultivation and biological substances from the internal research and development unit and joint research with external agencies, both public and private sectors.

3. Beyond sustainability; focusing on sustainability-based business operations according to ESG guidelines, which are given importance from upstream by improving the quality of life of farmers, together with the promotion of high-quality organic cassava through the Northeast S2 Model Project, which is integrated with the government sector. The company also pays attention to the production process that reduces environmental impact, striving to be a zero-carbon organization and managing by-products as valuable agricultural products (zero waste policy) throughout the product cycle.

The company also attaches importance to external stakeholders through the UBE CARE project, which helps support various communities in terms of both traditions and culture, assists in the disaster events in the area of Ubon Ratchathani province, along with building strength from within the organization by developing the potential and quality of life of personnel, including an organizational culture that facilitates growth toward goals.

“Thailand is considered one of the countries with the highest readiness in agriculture in the world, especially the cassava that can be developed into products in a variety of industries. This year, UBE aims to drive and prove that we are better than energy products but we also have tapioca starch and cassava flour products, which responds to the global trend in the demand for healthy food consumption, this will be an opportunity to expand the business to grow beyond to the next level”. Ms. Sureeyot added.

UBE aims to be a leader in taking Thai cassava and the industry to the next level of high quality food products through innovation, technology and research, while conducting business in a sustainable manner that can create equitably shared value for all stakeholders according to ESG guidelines, and be a long side to support Thai farmers in organic cassava production, the source of quality raw materials for perfect processing “food of the future” for a better life for Thai farmers and sustainable growth of the company according to the goal of becoming a strong and sustainable food tech company.

Remarks:
*UBEYOND comes from the combination of the words UBE + Beyond. It is the concept and strategy in the business operations of UBE and its subsidiaries, committed to creating sustainable and beyond growth in every dimension.