Truc Giang Import-Export Production and Trade Co: Thriving on Coconuts

Truc Giang Import-Export Production and Trade Co, set up in 1993, faced numerous difficulties in its early days. Its then key product was coconut fibre. At that time, the Company encountered hardships in seeking new markets after the fall of the socialist bloc. Worse, the Company began with rudimentary machinery and material facilities, with a humble financial source, and in a small production scale. Therefore, the Company was able to carry out only short-term business targets with low value products for the local market such as sauces and soft drinks from coconut. Then, becoming aware of the huge potential of the coconut tree, the company focused investment on this tree for export. Truc Giang Co. has ceaselessly expanded its production, built more workshops and storehouses, and bought new machinery and equipment. Its current export turnover is about 30,000 tonnes a year.

To reach those successes, the Company dared to take risks when pouring money into buying new equipment and machinery for satellite establishments in Ben Tre and other provinces. In such a way, Truc Giang has opened up another business method in producing coconut fibre yarn, not only benefiting itself but Ben Tre on the whole. Yarn production has turned wasted coconut shells into valuable materials. Apart from economic value, the coconut yarn processing industry has helped shape traditional trade villages such as Thom Market-Mo Cay (An Thanh and Khanh Thanh Tan communes), creating jobs for thousands of people. The success in coconut fibre yarn production has made Truc Giang further invest in expanding its current business and developing new products such as coconut dusts and sliced coconut shells.

Recently, Truc Giang has expanded its exports to China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, France and others. It has daringly invested a large sum of capital in purchasing modern production lines to make high value products. Currently, Truc Giang is cooperating to produce coconut dust, coconut charcoal and dry scraped coconut rice. The Company has entered a US$4-million joint venture with a group from Sri Lanka to produce dry scraped coconut rice. This joint venture has been furnished with up-to-date and synchronous production lines capable of turning out high quality products for the North American and European markets. This cooperation is a chance for the Company to bring its image to the world, devising momentum for developing the high value coconut industry in Ben Tre Province. The joint venture employs 4,000 workers and earns annual export revenues of US$20 million, heightening the value of the Ben Tre coconut and enriching the locals.

With those remarkable achievements, Truc Giang Import-Export Production and Trade Company has been awarded the 3^rd grade Labour Order and many diplomas of merits by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Trade and other organisations. In the coming time, the Company will further invest in diversifying its products and building coconut processing factories, aiming to make the coconut tree become a key cash-earning industrial tree in the province.

• Khac Phu