Vinamilk: Opening the way for milk exports to China

(Baonghean.vn) - Within the framework of the state visit of President Tran Dai Quang to China and his attendance at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to maintain the momentum of bilateral relations and promote the effectiveness of cooperation in the fields of economics, trade and investment between the two countries, Vietnamese and Chinese enterprises had the opportunity to exchange information on Vietnam's investment attraction policies for the Chinese business community and reached a number of valuable and pioneering memorandums of understanding in the cooperative relationship between enterprises of the two countries.

Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company Vinamilk - the first and only dairy enterprise in Vietnam has reached a memorandum of cooperation to supply Vinamilk's dairy products to the Chinese market, which was signed on May 12, 2017 in Beijing, under the witness of senior leaders of the two countries and leaders of relevant ministries and branches.

Mr. Mai Hoai Anh - Vinamilk Business Executive Director signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese partner under the witness of the Government and Ministry leaders of the two countries.

It is known that China is a very large and potential market with the largest population in the world, the total value of the dairy market is up to about 30 billion USD/year, so Vinamilk hopes that the memorandum signed this time will be the premise for the official export of Vinamilk's dairy products to serve Chinese consumers in the near future when the trade agreement between the two countries is signed in the efforts of the government and ministries of Vietnam - China; especially the support of the trade office and the Vietnamese trade counselor in China has helped the business a lot in connecting Vinamilk to meet with partners in the country in the field of milk production, consumption and processing.

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien checks products at the newly put into operation Vinamilk Milk Factory.

Vinamilk is currently the largest dairy company in Vietnam and is in the top 50 largest dairy companies in the world in terms of revenue. The company's export revenue in 2016 reached 258 million USD. The company's products are extremely diverse and meet international standards, not only popular in the domestic market but also exported to 43 countries around the world, including countries such as the US, Japan, the Middle East, Thailand, the Philippines... The company has 13 factories in Vietnam and 3 factories in the US, New Zealand and Cambodia along with 10 dairy farms across the country. Vinamilk's Dalat organic dairy farm, which was inaugurated in March 2017, is also the first organic dairy farm in Vietnam to meet European Organic standards certified by the Dutch Control Union.

During 40 years of development, Vinamilk has always strived to bring optimal nutritional solutions suitable for the physical condition of Vietnamese people. To meet the increasing demands of consumers, Vinamilk has constantly improved product quality, innovated designs, and regularly introduced new products to the market that bring added value to consumers. By April 2016, Vinamilk's entire liquid milk industry continued to maintain its leading position in the national market with more than 50% market share (according to data from market research company Nielsen). In the past two years, Vinamilk's 100% fresh milk export turnover has grown by an average of 70% per year.

Vinamilk dairy farm in Nghe An is the first farm to meet Global GAP standards. Photo: Archive

To date, Vinamilk has a system of 10 operating farms, all of which are large-scale with all cows imported from Australia, the US, and New Zealand. Vinamilk's farm system spread across Vietnam is proud to be the first farm in Southeast Asia to meet the international standards of Global Good Agricultural Practices (Global GAP) and European-standard organic dairy farms certified by Control Union. With a system of international standard factories spread across Vietnam, Vinamilk always ensures that raw fresh milk from farms is quickly transported to processing plants, ensuring that the delicious taste and nutrients from milk are preserved in the products in an optimal way. To meet the production needs for a finished milk output of up to hundreds of millions of liters per year, along with hundreds of other types of dairy products, Vinamilk has invested systematically in a system of developing raw materials according to international standards from grass planting, barn construction, cow feed processing to veterinary management, surrounding environment, ...

Vinamilk milk product packaging. Photo: Document

In the coming years, Vinamilk plans to continue importing high-quality cows from the US, Australia, and New Zealand to meet the breeding needs of new farms. Currently, the total herd of cows supplying milk to the company, including Vinamilk's farms and farmers who have signed contracts to sell milk to Vinamilk, is more than 120,000 cows, providing about 750 tons of raw fresh milk to produce over 3 million glasses of milk per day. And with the plan to develop new farms, the company will increase the total number of Vinamilk's cows from farms and households to about 160,000 by 2017 and about 200,000 by 2020, with the expected milk output by 2020 to more than double, to 1,500 - 1,800 tons per day, ensuring an abundant supply of pure milk for millions of Vietnamese families.

2016 marked the 40th anniversary of Vinamilk's establishment. Vinamilk has now become a leading enterprise in the dairy industry in Vietnam and is expanding strongly internationally. In addition to the Angkor dairy factory that was recently inaugurated in Cambodia (Vinamilk owns 100% of shares - 2016), Vinamilk has invested in 22.8% of shares in Miraka factory (New Zealand), invested and owned 100% of shares in Driftwood factory (USA), and invested in a subsidiary in Poland as a gateway for Vinamilk's commercial activities in Europe. Vinamilk's products are currently available in more than 40 countries around the world, such as Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, China, Turkey, Russia, Canada, USA, Australia...

PV