The Vietnamese dairy market is burning hot with an increasing number of newly-established companies, although domestic demand for dairy milk remains modest.
Five milk enterprises were put into operation since January while an additional five companies will make their debuts in the domestic market by the end of this year, according to local market watchers.
The Vietnam-US High Technology Dairy Joint-Stock Company’s Milky US is one of the latest dairy brands to be launched on the local market.
The company now has over 30 distributors located in central and southern provinces, and the company now plans to build a large dairy factory in Long An province, said company general director Dang Quang Hanh.
With booming establishments, the domestic dairy market is becoming increasingly competitive, promising to bring more benefits to consumers, said a representative of the Netherlands - based Dutch Lady Vietnam Company.
Although Vietnam has a relatively modest annual average purchase power growth rate of 6 per cent, the country’s milk processors still are seeking different ways of enhancing their competitive ability.
The Nutifood Milk Company recently completed a VND135 billion (US$71 million) processing factory in Binh Duong Province’s My Phuoc industrial Zone, with a capacity to churn out 17 million liters per year.
Meanwhile Dutch Lady Vietnam invested in upgrading production lines for its Yomost and Calcimex product range. Other major players including Nestle, Vinamilk, and Abbott have announced initiatives to boost production and market share.
However, due to recent shortages in output materials, including fresh and powdered milk, local milk companies plan to involve themselves in raising dairy cattle to guarantee more stable supplies.
Campina, a joint-venture between Vinamilk and the Netherlands’ Campina International Holding BV Group, has trained Vietnamese farmers on raising dairy cows providing high quality milk, and their products have become popular nationwide.
According to industry statistics, 85 per cent of milk products produced in Vietnam are made from powdered milk. The nation recently set a target to produce more than 300,000 tons of fresh milk by 2010, doubling present output to meet about 40 per cent of local demand.
The sector has also co-operated with Belgian and Japanese experts to expand dairy cow operations.
Vietnam currently has 100,000 dairy cows, yielding 150,000 tons of milk each year. Of the total herd, 57,000 cows are being raised in Ho Chi Minh City, producing 127,000 tons of milk per annum.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed the government encourage the establishment of milk production co-operatives and an association for dairy farmers and spur the development of dairy farms and processing facilities. It also recommended incentive to attract local and foreign investment in the milk industry.
Investment
Vietnamese
