The Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) invests a 16,000 cow farm in the province of Thanh Hóa. — Photo courtesy of the firm

HÀ NỘI — Thanh Hóa Province has seen increasing investment in agriculture in the last five years, especially from big investors.

In late 2019, a joint venture between Gia Phú Agricultural Joint Stock Company and Master Good Group from Hungary inaugurated a modern poultry export and slaughter plant in the province, worth VNĐ300 billion (US$12.9 million) with a capacity to slaughter 8 million chickens per year.

Other big firms have invested in agriculture projects in the northern province, showing their confidence in the local mechanisms, policies and investment environment.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Thanh Hóa has attracted 176 investment projects, covering 3,700ha with a total investment of more than VNĐ20 trillion in agriculture including seven foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total investment of nearly VNĐ3.9 trillion

A representative of the department said: “The major projects are expected to completely change the lives of rural residents.” 

According to the department, Thanh Hóa aimed to prioritise projects applying scientific and technological advances, associated with product processing and consumption, contributing to job creation for local workers.

It mentioned some projects that complete all production process in the province, including Vinamilk, which runs a farm with 16,000 cows with a total investment of VND1.6 trillion, as well as the dairy cow project with a scale of 20,000 cows with total investment capital of VNĐ3.8 trillion of TH True Milk Company.

In addition, Singaporean Hope Co invested in a breeding farm project with a scale of more than 10,000 sows and production of 500,000 pigs with a total investment of more than VNĐ1.1 trillion, while An Phước Import Export and Production Development Investment Joint Stock Company invested in a textile fibre factory project with a total value of VNĐ628 billion.

Most recently, the department said Xuân Thiện Group was completing investment procedures for 18 projects with a total registered capital of about VNĐ32.4 trillion while the AVG Group plans to invest in a pork processing complex in Nghi Son Economic Zone with a total value of $1.4 billion.

A representative from the department told local media: “Agriculture is an investment channel with risks but full of potentials and advantages in the province.

"Thanh Hóa has determined that agriculture has many strengths and great development and created many policies to attract investment in this field," he added.

He said the province ran annual investment promotion conferences to attract agriculture projects, which the province offers preferential mechanisms and policies.

Lê Đức Giang, deputy chairman of Thanh Hóa Provincial People's Committee, said the province has a very large agricultural land area with more than 900,000 ha with three ecological regions of mountains, plains and coastal areas, all with great potential.

Giang said though nearly 900 enterprises invest in agriculture, with more than 700 farms and about 2,000 co-operatives, there is still plenty of room to grow. — VNS