TH Group promotes clean fresh milk project in Kaluga province (Russian Federation)

On March 23, in Hanoi, TH Group held a signing ceremony for a cooperation agreement with Kaluga province (Russian Federation) within the framework of projects that TH Group is implementing in the Russian Federation.

The delegation of the Government of Kaluga Oblast was led by Mr. Anatoly Dmitriyevich Artamonov, Governor of Kaluga Oblast; Mr. Vladimir Potemkin – Deputy Governor of Kaluga Oblast, Chief of the Kaluga Oblast Office under the Government of the Russian Federation; Ms. Larisa Vorobyeva – Deputy Chief of the Kaluga Oblast Office under the Government of the Russian Federation; Mr. Denis Cherkesov – Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Kaluga Oblast; Mr. Stefan Perevalov – Director of the Kaluga Oblast Agrarian Economic Development Committee. The ceremony was also attended by Mr. Konstaintin Vnukov – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Vietnam.

Ms. Thai Huong, Chairwoman of TH Group's Board of Directors, signed an investment cooperation agreement with Mr. Anatoly Dmitriyevich Artamonov, Governor of Kaluga province.

In November 2015, at the International Milk Forum held in the Russian Federation, Ms. Thai Huong - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of TH Group announced the Project of Dairy Cow Farming and Milk Processing Complex Phase 1 in the Russian Federation with an investment capital of 500 million USD, the total expected herd of cows is 45 thousand; construction of a milk factory with a capacity of 800 tons/day, an animal feed factory with a capacity of 400 thousand tons/year. This is the first investment phase in the 10-year long-term investment strategy in the Russian Federation of TH Group with a total capital of 2.7 billion USD, with investment consultancy from North Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank. This project uses agricultural land of the two provinces of Moscow and Kaluga.

During the working session with the Kaluga Provincial Government Delegation, Ms. Thai Huong said that TH Group plans to invest 190 million USD to build 2 dairy farm clusters in this province (located in the 2 districts of Ulianov and Mosacalskyi). This is the next step of TH Group to promote the implementation of the Clean Fresh Milk Project in the Russian Federation, after the active activities of TH Group in Moscow Province. TH Group proposed that Kaluga Province hand over clean land and establish a TH Milk Project Management Board to quickly remove obstacles in the implementation of the Project.

Ms. Thai Huong - Chairwoman of TH Group's Board of Directors talked with the delegation of Kaluga province and shared that she will invest heavily in producing clean and safe food.

Mr. Anatoly Dmitriyevich Artamonov affirmed that the Kaluga provincial government has arranged a total area of ​​70,000 hectares for the construction of TH's farm and raw material fields, and has made commitments on handing over clean land; subsidizing land reclamation in long-abandoned agricultural lands; ensuring tax support policies; infrastructure conditions in accordance with current laws of the Russian Federation and Kaluga province. Regarding the establishment of the Project Management Board, Kaluga province has appointed a Deputy Governor in charge of the TH Group's Project and assigned the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the province to directly manage and accompany TH Group in implementing the Project immediately after the conclusion of investment negotiations.

Currently, the Russian Federation is the second largest milk importer in the world, accounting for about 12-15% of the world's milk trade. Regarding the embargo on milk imports from the US and allied countries, milk supply in Russia has become more difficult. The milk consumption norm of Russians issued by the Russian Ministry of Health in 2010 is 340 kg/person/year, but according to a survey by the International Dairy Association, Russians only use 173 kg/person/year. Therefore, the Kaluga Provincial Government welcomes and creates all conditions for TH Group to promote the implementation of the Dairy Cow Farming and Milk Processing Complex Project in Kaluga, soon launching international quality fresh milk products like TH is producing in Vietnam.

Ms. Thai Huong, Chairwoman of TH Group, presented gifts to show Vietnam-Russia friendship.

“We have experience in cooperating with foreign investors. For many years, Kaluga province has held the number 1 position in the Russian Federation in attracting investment and ensuring the rights of investors by law. Therefore, we believe that the TH Group project will soon be implemented in Kaluga,” said Mr. Anatoly Dmitriyevich Artamonov.

The members of the delegation also expressed their impression of TH true MILK products because of the marks that TH true MILK has left in Russia. On September 17, 2015, for the first time, TH true MILK attended the Moscow International Food Exhibition but had a brilliant victory when winning 7 major awards for quality, including 3 Gold awards, 3 Silver awards, and 1 Bronze award.

Talking about the reason for investing in Kaluga and the Russian Federation, Ms. Thai Huong shared: “It is a gratitude for the warm feelings that the Russian people have given to the Vietnamese people during the period of war; at the same time, we see business space during the period when Russia was embargoed.”

According to Ms. Thai Huong, Russia has vast, fertile land and natural conditions suitable for agricultural development. The Government of the Russian Federation and Kaluga province have issued attractive policies to develop the agricultural sector, attracting investors to the sector that has been dormant for a long time. TH Group is currently aiming to produce organic agricultural products, especially organic milk. This fresh, clean product line will be implemented in Kaluga.

The farm model that TH Group plans to build in Kaluga is similar to the model that the group is operating in Nghia Dan (Nghe An). The farm uses the most modern livestock systems in the world imported from countries with developed livestock industries such as Afimilk (Israel), GEA (Germany), Delaval (Sweden), BouMatic (USA).

Previously, at the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between TH Group and the Government of Moscow province, the TH Milk Project in the Russian Federation was assessed as a symbol of the Russia-Vietnam friendship, in line with the dynamic development of bilateral relations that the leaders of the two countries have elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

On March 23, the Kaluga Provincial Government delegation also had a meeting with President Truong Tan Sang and on March 24, the delegation will visit the TH farm in Nghe An - the farm recognized by the Asian Record Organization as the largest high-tech concentrated dairy farm cluster in Asia.