Product diversification expands market share.

(Baonghean)Through decisive policies, focusing on understanding domestic and international market conditions to guide fertilizer import activities, emphasizing sales methods and rapid capital turnover, and expanding product lines and business areas to better meet the quantity, quality, and seasonal needs of agricultural production, the company has built a strong brand. We are referring to Nghe An Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Corporation.



The NA2 rice variety, invested in by the company, boasts high yield and quality. Photo: Van Doan

It can be said that 2012 was a challenging year for the economy and the business community, including the agricultural sector. Growth slowed, some commodities experienced oversupply leading to large inventories, businesses had tied-up capital, the fertilizer market was volatile and unpredictable, and the competitive environment was unhealthy. Despite this, in an interview with us, Mr. Truong Van Hien – General Director of the Corporation – stated that the company always overcame difficulties by striving to build a brand that is increasingly friendly to farmers. When the fertilizer market became volatile and prices fluctuated erratically, the Corporation scaled back and limited its trading activities, shifting its focus to stabilizing production, preserving, and developing the market for NPK fertilizers. For NPK fertilizers, on the one hand, there are many policy mechanisms to encourage and guide farmers to access and use high-content products; on the other hand, for low-content NPK products, the Corporation maintains a loan mechanism with a late payment interest rate equal to 50% of the Corporation's bank loan interest rate. Therefore, the amount of fertilizer lent reached over 24,000 tons with a value of 123 billion VND.

Besides focusing on improving production and supply services, the Corporation collaborated with the Vietnam Institute of Chemistry to add biological preparations to NPK 16-16-8 and 15-5-20 fertilizers, enhancing their anti-caking properties. In the final months of 2012, to avoid a recurrence of the shortages experienced during the planting season in previous years, the Corporation focused on producing NPK 8-10-3 compound fertilizer at both factories: Sao Vang Factory and Nghi Long Factory. Through these efforts, the company created a stable and reliable supply of goods, ensuring employment and income for its workers.

Also during the year, products such as the NA2 pure rice variety and the LVN 14 corn variety were highly appreciated and trusted by farmers, to the point that at times there was insufficient supply to meet market demand. The Corporation also boldly purchased the copyright for the high-quality pure rice variety DT 68 to expand commercial rice production. In research, selection, and production at the Kim Lien farm in Nam Dan, the Corporation also collaborated with cooperatives in the districts of the province and cooperatives in Binh Dinh to produce seeds. As a result, in 2012, they produced 275 tons of NA2 pure rice, 70 tons of F1 hybrid corn seeds LVN 14, and 30 tons of L26 peanuts. Simultaneously, they continued to invest in research, testing, and selection to create many new, high-yield, and high-quality varieties. In 2012, in response to the province's policy of piloting model fields, the Corporation was a leading unit in the province in implementing these models. During the 2012 winter-spring and summer-autumn seasons, the unit collaborated with the People's Committees of the districts to implement 34 model fields, including 30 model fields of purebred rice (Na2 variety) and 4 model fields of Vietnamese corn (VN 14 variety).

As a result, the company's revenue in 2012 reached VND 1,200 billion, contributing nearly VND 39 billion to the state budget, and achieving a dividend of 20%. Given the anticipated difficulties in 2013, the company has set a target of VND 800 billion in revenue and a production volume of 150,000 tons. The General Director of the Corporation added: To achieve and surpass the set targets, in addition to identifying high-quality NPK compound fertilizers as the main product, the Corporation will focus on investing heavily in scientific and technological advancements by completing and implementing the "High-Quality Commercial Rice Production" project at the Kim Lien seed farm in Nam Dan; and cooperating with the Institute of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science and Ve Dan Vietnam Co., Ltd. in researching and adding safe biological preparations to NPK compound fertilizers to increase nutrient content. Establishing a joint-stock company specializing in the production and trading of plant seeds and bio-fertilizers... Diversifying products, expanding business sectors, geographical areas, and market share are key solutions for the enterprise to overcome difficulties and challenges, continuously increase sales, and contribute to the local budget.

Thu Huyen