President Putin: TH Group is a highlight in Vietnam-Russia agricultural cooperation

During the press conference following his discussions with President To Lam as part of the official visit to Vietnam on June 20, 2024, President Vladimir Putin remarked: "The bilateral agricultural partnership between Vietnam and Russia is developing. Mutual agricultural product supply is expanding, and product variety is growing."

"Vietnam's TH Group is building milk processing plants across multiple regions in Russia, including Kaluga and Primorye. In 2023, the Group finished constructing the first portion of a livestock complex in the suburbs of Moscow, with a designed capacity of 6000 dairy cows," president Putin cited.

President Putin's remarks on the Russia-Vietnam partnership before the visit, published in The People's Newspaper on June 19, also acknowledged TH Group as a prime example of a company that successfully seized investment opportunities in the Russian market. Additionally, he encouraged other Vietnamese businesses to remain proactive in capitalizing on similar significant opportunities.

The TH Group's project cited by President Putin is the High-Tech Dairy Cow Farming and Milk Processing Complex in the Russian Federation, with a total investment capital of 2.7 billion USD. To date, this is the largest overseas agricultural investment project funded by a Vietnamese company.

Expressing gratitude towards Russia for its assistance in Vietnam's past struggles

When TH Group initiated its major project in Russia, founder Thai Huong has, on multiple occasions, shared with the media that the project embodies a love for Russia as well as a gesture of gratitude to a nation that spared no effort in aiding Vietnam during its most intense period of foreign aggression.

Furthermore, after Vietnam formally gained independence, Soviet specialists, engineers, doctors, educators, and scientists assisted in rebuilding the nation.

TH Group developed towards Russia with the aim of seizing significant business opportunities after recognizing the potential and advantages of this country.

TH Group initiated the High-Tech Dairy Cow Farming and Milk Processing Complex project in Russia amidst sanctions from Western countries. These sanctions have resulted in a shortage of dairy products for the Russian people.

Accordingly, Thai Huong’s strategic vision has outlined a “milk shortage map” for Russia. Statistics compiled in the years between 2013 and 2017 indicated that Russia’s domestic raw milk production reached approximately 20 million tons, accounting for 76% of its total raw milk production. On the other hand, the volume of imported raw milk reached approximately 7 million tons per year, accounting for the remaining 24%.

"By following the “milk shortage map”, we have ensured the project's feasibility, and reduced transportation costs, time, and product distribution efforts. Moreover, the project, in collaboration with the Vietnamese government, contributed to enhancing Russia’s self-sufficiency in milk and dairy production, with a focus on exporting to international markets, particularly China and the Asia-Pacific region," Thai Huong shared.

In September 2017, during the Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok, Thai Huong had the honor of meeting, dining, and discussing plans to invest in Russia's agricultural sector with President Vladimir Putin.

Notably, the TH Group founder was the only woman among 40 investors granted an audience with President Putin, and one of only five foreign investors invited to give a speech.

After hearing her presentation, President Putin offered respectful praises, recognizing Thai Huong as a talented entrepreneur who had developed an exceptionally comprehensive action plan, reflective of an international business leader.

Drawing on their successful experience with the TH true MILK dairy farming and fresh milk processing project, which featured a total investment capital of 1.2 billion USD and laid the foundation for a clean fresh milk industry revolution in Vietnam, TH Group implemented the project in Russia with a high level of professionalism, and the brand's humanitarian values as driving factors.

Thai Huong remarked: "I visited Russia amidst heavy sanctions, with the natural moral principle of a decent human being, as the Vietnamese proverb goes, 'gratitude is the sign of noble souls'; because I still remember when Vietnam was at war, and Russia spared no effort in the national liberation of my country. This profound assistance cultivated within me, as well as other Vietnamese people, a deep love for Russia, and I have always longed for the chance to visit Russia."

A project to foster Russian consumers' affection for Vietnamese brand

When investing in Russia, TH Group founder Thai Huong assessed that the Russian Federation's government, through the skillful, decisive, and dynamic leadership of President Putin, has implemented tailored policies to utilize the immense and previously neglected potentials within its agricultural sector. This has allowed Russia to emerge as an agricultural powerhouse, meeting both domestic consumption and export demands.

For TH Group, these policies included attractive reimbursements of up to 30% of dairy farm construction costs, three-quarters interest rate incentives, financial support for purebred cows, reclaimed land, and produced milk. Additionally, Russia made continuous improvements to its infrastructure, logistics, and energy systems.

According to Thai Huong, Russia's agricultural investment policies are transparent and attractive, encouraging both domestic and international investors to focus on this sector, as evidenced in practice. Notably, TH Group's projects have received comprehensive support from both federal and local governments.

When exploring investment opportunities in Russia, TH Group requested introduction to former Soviet dairy farms and cooperatives. Thai Huong believed that the Soviet Union had previously established a well-developed dairy farming sector, and its scientists had chosen optimal locations with suitable soil and conditions for dairy farms.

Although these farms had been abandoned for 20 to 30 years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, re-investments can potentially render them viable for project implementation.

To date, TH Group's projects in Russia have made steady progress, becoming a highlight of Vietnam-Russia economic cooperation. In provinces and territories with in-progress projects, TH Group has invested several millions of dollars in modern machinery, and transformed a significant area of abandoned land in Russia into fertile, high-yield fields and high-tech dairy farms, providing employment opportunities for local residents who returned to work in their hometowns.

This initiative has created an advantage for TH Group, fostering a positive connection with the brand.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for TH Group's High-Tech Dairy Cow Farming and Milk Processing Complex project in the Far East, Korenchuk Alexey Alexandrovich, Chief of Yakovlevsky District, Primorsky region, expressed his gratitude to TH investors: "After reviewing, evaluating documents, and working directly with the Group, I can confidently affirm that TH is a highly professional foreign investor. And I am confident in the success of the project. I want to thank TH Group on behalf of the people of Yakovlevsky district and the Russian people for investing in our homeland."

In reality, TH Group possesses the technology, the manpower, and the experience to accelerate the effectiveness of their projects in Russia. Namely, the Group has successfully implemented high-tech dairy cow farming and fresh milk processing projects in Vietnam; subsequently becoming a pioneering fresh milk company and laying the foundation for a clean fresh milk industry revolution in Vietnam.

These experiences helped guide TH Group to Russia, allowing them to continue pioneering achievements in this market with professional, legitimate, and methodical investment. Consequently, TH Group has positioned itself as a highlight in the Vietnam-Russia friendly relationship, thereby strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between both countries.

TH's farm in Moscow province is currently managing a total dairy herd of nearly 3,000 cows, with milk-producing cows accounting for half of this figure. TH Group is developing the farm to reach a scale of 6,000 milking cows for a total herd of 12,000 cows.

In Kaluga province, TH's farm is managing a total herd of 3,300 cows. The first portion of the milk processing plant in the Kaluga Industrial Zone, with a designed capacity of 500 tons, is currently under construction.

In the Far East, TH Group recently initiated a dairy project with an investment capital of 19 billion rubles, and a scale of 6,000 milking cows for total herd of 12,000 cows. Furthermore, TH Group has been reclaiming land and planting soybeans within the region since 2021. TH plans to plant soybeans on 2,150 hectares and reclaim 5,200 hectares of land in 2024. Accordingly, the Group will reclaim over 4,000 hectares of land, and cultivate the entire 13,000 hectares of allocated land by 2025.

TH's fields in Moscow and Kaluga provinces are considered model fields, chosen for agricultural competitions and machinery exhibitions. Their dairy farms have also exhibited rapid development over the years.