Six months after launching the initial public offering (IPO) and holding the first shareholder meeting, the business performance of Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) has made significant progress, particularly in export.
Initial results illustrated the right development direction adopted by the Hapro Board of Directors and translated into practice. The export value reached US$89 million in the first nine months of this year, up 22 per cent from the corresponding period of 2017. Its revenue grossed VND3,905 billion (US$170 million), up 20 per cent year on year. Key exports continued to hold high growth rates, such as cashew nuts (US$62 million, up 15 per cent) and rice (nearly US$12 million, up 22 per cent).
Export and domestic trade is focus as two strategic segments
President of BRG Group and President of Hapro Corporation Nguyen Thi Nga said, after going public, Hapro continues to be developed into a general import, export and domestic trade firm capable of competing and developing sustainably, promoting its role as a major economic and commercial entity that plays an important role in carrying out economic development tasks of Hanoi. The corporation will further focus on developing the domestic market with HaproMart Supermarket, HaproFood Supermarket and grocery store chains; step up commercial infrastructure development in Hanoi and other localities throughout the country for retail system expansion; promote the export of key agricultural products, foodstuffs and handicrafts to 80 countries and territories in the world; and concentrate on investing to build export production factories to boost domestic sales and export shipments.
Hapro’s development focus in the coming time is promoting and increasing export revenues, globalising Hapro export brand in the region and developing Hapro into a leading exporter of BRG Group. The corporation will successfully develop five key exports ranked among Top 5 exporters in the country, including rice, cashew nut, pepper, coffee and handicraft.
Hapro’s specific tasks include securing sustainable export development by actively expanding input supplies for key exports and building some processing factories like investing in a new rice processing plant, building an organic pepper processing facility in Binh Duong province, and expanding the cashew nut processing plant in Binh Phuoc province. Then, Hapro will have conditions to develop its own branded products for export and domestic consumption, thus adding values to Vietnam's agricultural products. In addition, Hapro needs to develop satellite facilities, increase domestic and foreign supply sources, and create multidimensional commodity channels, especially for Vietnam's strong agricultural products. By 2020, Hapro’s total revenue will reach VND9 trillion (US$386 billion), up 45 per cent from 2018, with 80 per cent coming exports estimated at US$200 million, a growth of 66 per cent over 2018.
Globalising Vietnamese agricultural products
Based on above major orientations and specific objectives, the Hapro leadership has centrally carried out many groundbreaking solutions to raise export value and expand foreign markets. Specifically, Hapro has actively participated in major agri-food fairs and trade promotion conferences concerning agriculture and food industry in the world, and business matching programmes. The corporation has also strengthened contacts with Vietnamese embassies and diplomatic missions in foreign countries and foreign trade offices and embassies in Vietnam, thereby boosting exports to international markets. And, this is an important solution to expand exports.
Immediately after going public, some groundbreaking trade promotion solutions were applied effectively by Hapro, including actively attending and displaying products in major trade fairs in the world to promote its brand name and capture market trends like the INC World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress, WorldFood Istanbul Exhibition (Turkey) and WorldFood Moscow Exhibition (Russia). In May 2018, Hapro exported the first batch of Thanh Ha litchi to Malaysia. In June 2018, the first batch of rice, packed in 5-kg and 10-kg bags, entered supermarket chains in Dubai (the United Arab Emirates - UAE). On June 13, 2018, Hapro was granted the rice export code by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and soon shipped the first batch of 750 tonnes of rice to this market. Joining the World Food Istanbul Exhibition in late August 2018, Hapro signed a number of export contracts for agricultural products worth about US$1 million. In the first two weeks of October, participating in the International Cashew Conference held in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh province, and the World Rice Conference held in Hanoi, Hapro inked a number of cashew nut export contracts with customers worth US$1 million from the United States and Europe, and three rice export deals worth nearly US$2.5 million with customers from the US and Malaysia.
From October 20 to 27, 2018, the Hapro trade promotion led by General Director Vu Thanh Son took part in the Global Food Marketplace Fair - SIAL (France). This biennial fair, held in Paris Nord Villepinte, is one of the largest and prestigious food and beverage fairs in the world. Covering nearly 250,000 square metres, the exhibition drew the attendance of about 6,500 exhibitors from more than 100 countries around the world and more than 155,000 visitors from more than 190 countries. At SIAL Paris 2018, Hapro hired a booth and showcased traditional exports such as rice, black pepper, cashew nut, cinnamon, foodstuff, vermicelli, noodles, rice paper, canned fruits, dried fruits, copra and spices. In two days at the fair, Hapro's booth received nearly 100 customers seeking cooperation opportunities and Hapro actively took part in some business matching programmes held by the Vietnam Trade Office in France to meet with importers and a business exchange programme with French food importers coordinated by UB France - a French trade promotion agency. Attending SIAL is a great opportunity for Hapro Corporation to promote its brand and image, capture market information, consumer tastes and development trends of agri-food industry in the world. The corporation also visited traditional customers and regular customers from all over the world at the fair, as well as contacted new potential customers to boost exports in the coming time. Here, Hapro signed export contracts worth about US$2 million for agricultural products (cashew nuts, pepper, copra, cinnamon, etc.). The firm is actively exchanging and concluding export deals with visiting customers who seek to import rice, pepper, cashew nut, tapioca starch, processed vegetables, dried fruits and other products.
As a member of BRG Group, Hapro will continue to promote trade and export more agricultural products of Vietnamese strengths, focusing on organic products like rice, cashew nuts, pepper, coffee, processed foods, and fruits and vegetables like dragon fruit, lime, litchi, longan, cabbage and chilli, to traditional and new markets like the United States, Malaysia, Europe, West Asia and Africa. It will continue to play a good role of promoting and introducing BRG Export brand through the popularisation of Hapro Export brand.
Le Hien