The ILD Coffee Vietnam production facility in Bình Dương Province. The facility has the capacity to produce 5,600 tonnes of freeze-dried instant coffee annually. — Photo Courtesy from ILD Coffee Vietnam

BÌNH DƯƠNG – Frech merchant firm, Louis Dreyfus Company and Poland’s Instanta Sp. z o.o., on Friday inaugurated ILD Coffee Vietnam, their joint venture freeze-dried instant coffee production facility in Bình Dương.

The investment in the project is worth US$84.2 million, according to the southern province’s People’s Committe.

With an annual capacity of 5,600-tonne, the facility has been set up to meet the rising global demand for instant coffee, particularly the premium freeze-dried variety. 

It would source coffee beans from Gia Lai, Đắc Lắc, Lâm Đồng, and Đắc Nông provinces, the company said.

Ben Clarkson, LDC’s global head of coffee platform, said: "This venture with Instanta supports our global strategy to diversify through more value-added products, reflects our ongoing commitment to Việt Nam as a key market, and complements our existing global robusta green coffee business."

The plant is equipped with the latest extraction and freeze-drying technologies, and undergoes safety audit for FSSC 22000 and SMETA compliance. 

The plant’s equipment is designed to minimise the environmental footprint including a biomass boiler that harnesses spent coffee grounds to generate steam. 

Louis Dreyfus, founded in 1851, is a merchant and processor of agricultural goods with activities spanning the entire value chain in a broad range of business platforms including carbon solutions, coffee, cotton, food and feed solutions, freight, global markets, grains and oilseeds, juice, rice and sugar. It has interests in over 100 countries and employs 17,000 people.

Instanta, established in 2001, produces coffee under clients’ brand names, and operates seven factories in Poland, Turkey, Colombia and Việt Nam. — VNS