Tyson Foods is now involved in three joint ventures in China, and they have also embarked on a fourth enterprise in the poultry industry, to open in 2009.

Tyson has taken over 60% of the Shandong based company, Xinchang Group.

Tyson Foods has operated in China for the last 15 years and the company knows the market well, says James Rice, head of the joint ventures on Tyson’s behalf.

Rice says, “The Chinese still have a preference for meat that is so fresh it was moments ago walking around, the government has now cracked down on these wet markets."

Tyson opened a new factory in 2009, in the Jiangsu province, that will specialize in fresh meat and vacuum packed chicken with a long shelf life.

The new product will be a first for the Chinese market. The people there hope to find a happy medium, between frozen imported product and the wet markets, where shoppers select the live animal and have it slaughtered and plucked.