A virtual signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding for strategic corporation between Masan MEATLife Corporation and De Heus Vietnam to raise the productivity of the country’s animal protein value chain being held on September 14. — Photo courtesy of Masan

HCM CITY — Masan MEATLife Corporation (MML) and De Heus Vietnam on September 14 announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to raise the productivity of the animal protein value chain.

The virtual signing ceremony saw the presence of Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Minh Hoan, Christoph Prommersberger, chargé d'affaires at the Netherlands embassy of in Việt Nam, Alain Cany, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam, Dr Nguyễn Đăng Quang, chairman of Masan Group, and other executives from Masan Group, Masan MEATLife Corporation, Royal De Heus, and De Heus Vietnam.

Under the MOU, the two sides will create and strengthen strategic partnerships and business cooperation opportunities.

They will work together to optimize and drive the productivity of Việt Nam’s 3F (feed-farm-food) animal protein value chain by leveraging each other’s strengths and capabilities.

Masan will focus on the branded chilled meat business while De Heus Vietnam will prioritise providing animal nutrition, genetics and husbandry solutions.

They will also partner with independent livestock and aquaculture farming entrepreneurs and provide them with end-to-end solutions to make them competitive and successful.

They will join hands to develop a 3F operating model to ensure safe, innovative and affordable chilled meat products are available to Việt Nam’s 100 million consumers.

The MoU embodies the spirit of the EU – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement and Investment Protection Agreement, and the strategic partnership between the two companies can greatly benefit Việt Nam’s animal protein value chain and socio-economic development.

The combination of De Heus Vietnam’s expertise in the upstream sector and Masan’s champion integrated FMCG-retail platform has the potential to accelerate the modernisation of the value chain.

The two parties plan to establish a committee to discuss their investments in new or existing ventures and supply chain cooperation to ensure there is a stable and predictable volume of inputs for the downstream meat business.

Danny Le, CEO of Masan Group and chairman of Masan MEATLife, said: “I believe this partnership will significantly contribute to the modernisation of Việt Nam’s animal protein infrastructure to be on par with those of developed countries. Our focus is to ensure that all consumers have access to safe, healthy, delicious and, most importantly, affordable meat and fish products.

“This has great potential to be a transformative partnership that enhances consumers’ daily lives.”

Gabor Fluit, CEO of De Heus Asia, said: “We are delighted to cooperate with Masan MEATLife. Over time higher regulatory standards are being implemented in Việt Nam’s animal protein value chain in terms of food safety, biosecurity, traceability, animal welfare, and antibiotics usage.

“In the meantime, it is also crucial to promote the competitiveness of the country’s animal protein products against those from developed countries.

“To achieve this, it is important for the various links in the value chain to optimally work more closely together. I am confident that by combining the knowledge and experience of Masan and De Heus, we will be able to accelerate and achieve the desired progress in these areas.”

The MoU is a non-binding agreement, but the parties are committed to develop one or more collaboration agreements by the first quarter of 2022. All cooperation agreements and/or ventures are subject to customary corporate and regulatory approvals.

Royal De Heus is one of the global leaders in the animal nutrition and husbandry industry. Since its entry into Việt Nam in 2009, it has been driving dynamic growth to become one of the largest animal feed producers in the country.

Masan MEATLife, a subsidiary of Masan Group Corporation, one of Việt Nam’s largest consumer-focused businesses, was established to provide consumers with quality, innovative, value-added, and traceable meat products at affordable price points.

Its vision is to become a leading fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company with a focus on branded meat products by improving the productivity of Việt Nam’s meat supply chain organically. — VNS