Phuc An Enhancing Value of Vietnamese Cashew Nuts

Phuc An Co., Ltd was established in 2004. Mr Le Quang Luyen, President of Member Council and the founder of this company, said that company had had to face many difficulties in its early days such as capital, employment, market and materials. However, those initial disadvantages have become important premises for its current development.

 

As someone concerned with the development of cashew nuts, Mr Le Quang Luyen understands clearly the value which cashew nuts bring to farmers so when deciding to build a cashew nut processing factory, he invested methodically. He constructed the factory in 22,000m² of area with full of works like workshop, drying yard, domicile for workers. This means the company spent huge initial capital. However, good infrastructure has created advantages for operation of the company, helped Phuc An Co. Ltd. increase reputation among customers and develop sustainably. “A company that wants to do long – term business should invest in infrastructure. No infrastructure means no development,” Mr Luyen said.

 

Besides investing in infrastructure, Phuc An Co. Ltd. is also concerned about technical innovation, product quality improvement and capital mobilization for business. The company gave a motto “A company should be associated with prestige; products should be associated with quality.”

 

With such criteria, Phuc An Co. Ltd. has determined that they do not compete with anyone but themselves. The company aims to increase sales and outputs next year higher than previous year by at least 20 percent. “If five customers accept our quality this year, the number of customers will be seven or more in the next year. Technology, and skills of workers also advanced much,” Mr Luyen said.

 

Thanks to the right strategy, in the past few years, Phuc An Co. Ltd. has been developing well with good outputs and quality. When other companies are searching for small export orders, Phuc An Co. Ltd. is full of orders.

 

Currently, cashew nut processing factory of Phuc An Co. Ltd. has achieved ISO 22000, the capacity has reached approximately 35 tonnes of crude cashew nut/ day with more than 250 workers working continuously. Products of Phuc An Co. Ltd. have been exported to many countries such as U.S., Australia, Europe, Canada, China and the Middle East. Every year, the average export value reaches US$20 million. This is the result that is hard to have and certainly not natural; it is the result of effort by improving quality.

 

In relationship with customers, Mr Le Quang Luyen said: “The key for a company is product quality and prestige, when we have those two things, customers will come to us rather than going around and talking a lot about yourself but being unable to guarantee quality.”

 

Besides Phuc An Co. Ltd. specializing in processing export cashew nuts, Mr Le Quang Luyen has established a member company, it is Tien Thinh Manufacturing – Trade and Investment Limited Company, located in Ho Chi Minh City, the lines of business are trading, import and export.

 

To create position and force for Phuc An Co. Ltd., Mr Luyen is also promoting cooperation with some partner companies. Firstly, he will cooperate with Hanoi (HAPRO) – Ho Chi Minh City Branch to conduct to establish a cashew nut packing centre for export located at Phuc An factory. Next, both parties will construct a factory for processing cashew nuts to export with larger and more modern scale in order to serve overseas markets.

 

When asked about the current investment and business environment in Binh Phuoc Province, Mr Le Quang Luyen said: “2014 is the 10-year anniversary of Phuc An Co. Ltd. in Binh Phuoc Province. In the past ten years, we received lots of enthusiastic support and facilitation from local authorities and departments of Binh Phuoc Province. With its effort in reforming administration and local potential, in my opinion, Binh Phuoc Province will be an attractive destination for domestic and overseas investors.”