In recent years, with the introduction of vacuum desiccators to dry fruits and tubers, Vinamit has considerably contributed to the shift of crop structure to raise farm produce values. Reporter Ngoc Oanh of Vietnam Business Forum Magazine had a talk with Mr. Nguyen Lam Vien, general director of Vinamit, about this issue.
Can you tell us some initiatives for the production of chips from Vietnamese farm produce?
After several business trips overseas, I found out that people in developed nations were keen on fast-food. Their favourites are dried food and chips. Vietnamese farm produce can easily become chips after being dried, and chips from natural vegetables, tubers and fruits are superior to industrial chips made from starch. Vietnamese chips, rich in fibrous matter, are good for human digestive system. In addition, Vietnamese-originated chips have sufficient natural flavours, colours and natural sweet levels while industrial chips mainly have industrial flavours, and sugars and monosodium glutamate.
Is your chip processing technology different from others?
Vinamit now has a complete production line from harvesting stages to packaging stages. Raw materials are washed by ozone waters to eliminate dirt. Later, they are sliced and stored in refrigerating houses. Then, they are sent into vacuum desiccators and packaged in special wraps to ensure one-year lifespan.
This is the most modern technology from post-harvest in Japan in 1984 and Vinamit imported it into Vietnam in 1990. Currently, Vinamit has 25 different products being exported to 10 countries in the world. In the past 15 years, Vinamit always tries its best to meet the demand of the market. So, Vinamit has advised farmers to restructure their crop cultivation to raise productivity and cooperate with Vinamit to plant high-demand products.
Vietnam is now developing its industry, and as a result, the cultivation area will shrink. So, what will Vinamit do to raise its production as the material area is limited?
Vinamit is planning to develop material areas in the south-eastern region, central highlands and central region. Vinamit is currently investing in Tan Phu Zone in Dong Nai Province to process materials from Bao Loc District in Lam Dong Province and Binh Thuan Province. The company will advise locals to restructure their crops to achieve better economic results. This project, which combines plantation and purchase, is a sound development strategy of Vinamit and reflects Vinamit’s commitments to the purchase of farm produce from farmers. Vinamit not only sells seeds to farmers but also wants to create a market as well as a material zone to raise agriculture production value. Depending on soil, Vinamit consults farmers to grow suitable crops like colocynth, jackfruit, Indian taro, French bean and bananas. Vinamit is carrying out a 1,000-ha farm to grow bananas in Ca Mau Province and a material zone covering 1,000 ha in Tan Phu. The company is expanding its jackfruit cultivation area in Dak Lak Province where farmers are replacing low-yield sorts with high-yield varieties. At present, Vinamit is developing a piloted 600-ha material area model. The company will inaugurate two refrigerating factories in Buon Ho and Kilometre Post 42 in Dak Lak Province. The Buon Ho factory, whose construction was begun in 2005, is scheduled to begin operation in late 2007. Vinamit also wants to extend its branches to Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Nghe An provinces.
The core objective of Vinamit is to raise Vietnamese farm produce value and bring farm produce value to a new high.
Vietnamese
