Developing the agricultural processing center of the Northwest

Doveco the pioneer

During a visit and working session at Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center in Hat Lot commune, Mai Son district, Son La province at the end of May 2022, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh repeatedly emphasized the importance of applying science and technology in agricultural processing to improve productivity, labor quality as well as increase investment value.

"Agricultural products in the northern provinces, especially those in Son La province, are currently in season with very large output. In order to promote the export of these agricultural products, we need to diversify the supply chain as well as diversify the market. It is necessary to increase the value of agricultural products by increasing the levels of technological application in the processing and post-harves stage", the Prime Minister raised the issue.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center is one of the pioneering units in bringing agricultural product processing facilities to large raw material areas.

Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center covers an area of ​​over 8.8 hectares, with an investment capital of 500 billion VND; the total capacity reaches 52,000 tons of agricultural products annually. Agricultural products including pineapple, passion fruit, mango, longan, string, jackfruit, avocado, sweet corn among others, are deeply processed following technologies from Japan, Italy, Germany and European countries. These products are qualified for export to the United States, Japan, and Europe.

The Processing Center contains a complex of 3 processing facilities with the most modern equipment and technology including: A concentrated fruit juice and puree processing facility with a designed capacity of 20,000 tons per year, the technology and equipment are imported from Italy; frozen fruit and vegetable processing facility with a designed capacity of 10,000 tons of products per year, the technology and equipment are imported from Japan; canned vegetables and fruits processing facility with designed capacity of 20,000 tons of products per year, the technology and equipment are imported from Italy and Germany. It is possible to process a variety of vegetables and fruits available in Son La simultaneously on a single production line.

After the Center goes into operation, it will create jobs for over 30,000 workers as well as connect raw material areas in the Northwest provinces to develop in a sustainable direction.

In addition, the Center has received investment in technology focsuing on the post-harvest stage, thereby diversifying agricultural products, improving product value, contributing to diversifying supply channels including fresh, processed vegetables and fruits channels, diversifying the market.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy General Director of Dong Giao Food Export Joint Stock Company (Doveco) and Director of Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center, said that the center consume from 250,000 to 300,000 tons of fruit materials annually. For the upcoming crop season, Doveco Son La aims to consume the entire output of mango, pineapple, passion fruit, lychee and others from Son La province as well as other Northern provinces.

The raw material areas for ​​Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center are located in the three Northwest provinces of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau with a total area of ​approximately 11,500 hectares, and an annual output of nearly 250,000 tons.

Respectively, 3,010 hectares of pineapple with an annual output of 120,000 tons, 1,860 hectares of mango with an annual output of 18,600 tons, 2,310 hectares of passion fruit with an annual output of 60,000 tons, 2,000 hectares of longan with an annual output of 18,000 tons, 1,660 hectares of sweet corn with an annual output of 24,900 tons, 640 hectares of vegetable soybeans with an annual output of 6,400 tons, 90 hectares of spinach with an annual output of 1,800 tons.

The goal of becoming a Northwest agricultural processing center in 2025

“Son La province's policy of planting fruit trees on the slopes of hills is an important innovation in the agricultural mindset, contributing to the restructuring of local crops. The adjusted structure of crops will improve labor productivity and efficiency on land, change farming habits, and boost efficiency from investment in science and technology", affirmed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Subsequently, the Prime Minister asked Son La province to continue support for the construction of multiple processing facilities to diversify products, improve quality, and contribute to improving farmers' livelihoods.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung said that with a history of 68 years in establishment, development and growth, Doveco has undoubtedly mastered the processing technology of many agricultural products in a complete manner.

“In recent years, Doveco has focused on investing in machinery and equipment lines from countries with technological advancements in the production of agricultural products and vegetables such as Italy, Sweden, and Japan. The technology can help to process high-quality products”, shared Mr. Tung.

In addition, Doveco also focuses on investing in raw materials, managing cultivation areas to ensure quality input materials.

Some of Doveco's key products such as concentrated passion fruit juice, passion fruit puree, concentrated pineapple juice, canned pineapple, cold pineapple, cold passion fruit among others have recently been exported to other countries, especially fastidious markets including Japan and the United States.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, Vice Chairman of Son La Provincial People's Committee, from the current 80,000 hectares of fruit growing area, Son La is promoting the arrangement of the advantageous crop structure by region and locality in order to establish stable raw material areas for existing processing facilities as well as those under construction to ensure operating capacity.

In addition, the province is urgently developing policies to encourage investment support in industrial parks, industrial clusters, agricultural product deep processing facilities, wholesale markets and so on in the area to attract investment. The provincial government strives to reach the goal of building Son La towards the agricultural processing center of the Northwest region by 2025.

Mr. Luong Trung Hieu, Chairman of Son La Farmers' Association, said that Son La Farmers' Association has recently been assigned by the province to act as the focal point to organize activities and support processing businesses in the province, with special attention to the implementation and development of standard raw material areas. Accordingly, the Son La Farmers' Association has propagated and mobilized farmers to adjust their crop structure to suit the needs of processing facilities.

“For the Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center, we have been assigned two tasks by the province. The first is to develop a raw material area, which focuses on the areas of pineapple, vegetable soybean, mango and longan to serve the Center's processing target. The province's key fruit products such as mango and longan all meet quality standards", said Mr. Luong Trung Hieu.

In addition, Son La Farmers' Association coordinated with agencies at all levels, sectors, districts/cities to mobilize farmers to convert portions of their agricultural land to growing pineapples, vegetable soybeans, spinach, and sweet corn to supply raw materials to the factory.

The Son La Farmers' Association is also tasked with the capacity training of 2,000 workers for Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center. Based on the Center's current needs, the Son La Farmers' Association has coordinated with the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture to train 500 workers on standby to be ready as soon as the Center enters operation.

“At the moment, the workers are brought to Doveco Company in Ninh Binh after the initial training process for both theoretical training and practical training. Afterwards, workers will be selected and be requested to officially sign a labor contract with the company, and immediately work on the 2022 crop”, said Chairman of Son La Farmers Association.