Clarebout builds French fries factory in Beijing

Since the beginning of this year, Clarebout has had a joint venture with probably Zhucheng Dragon Fritopack, with which it obtained a 50% stake in a French fry production location and a permit to build a new French fry factory in Beijing, the newspaper quotes from the explanation. "The purpose of this purchase is to serve the highly competitive local market in China from the site in Beijing, as well as some countries in Asia," De Tijd quotes.

According to Companyweb, the company's turnover has risen sharply to €795 million (+37%) in 2024 and the profit after tax amounts to €5,9 million.

China in demand
Clarebout was in the news in May because of a far-reaching collaboration with the American industry peer JR Simplot Company would be imminent. Clarebout is not the only one focusing on Asia in addition to the US. This year, the Belgian family business Agristo also announced that it would build a (first) French fry factory in both the US and India. The Dutch Cosun subsidiary Aviko (still without a production facility in the US) recently tripled its French fry production capacity in China. Not only Western European French fry producers are expanding their production in China. For example, Lamb Weston invested $2023 million in a new factory in the country in 250. Chinese companies are also scaling up and many new players have joined between 2005 and 2020.

The French fries market in China has expanded developed enormously in recent years. Not only has domestic consumption increased, production has grown even faster. The country has been a net exporter since 2022. The graph below shows that French fry exports increased considerably at the end of 2024 compared to a year earlier. The first quarter of 2025 was also stronger than 2024. There seems to be a decline in recent months, but it should be noted that the figures for 2025 are not yet complete.