Phạm Ba Huân is a famous businesswoman who uses modern ways to produce huge numbers of eggs.

She learned about eggs from her mother who bought and sold them.

However, her mother only had a small business and the family grew up poor.

Phạm Ba Huân says she learnt all about how to work hard by being with her mother.

Inner Sanctum: Can you tell us how you first became involved with eggs?

I was born in a very poor and crowded family. My parents had 8 children, and I was the second. My mother was a small egg trader. At the age of 12 I had to wake up very early in the morning to accompany her to purchase chicken and duck eggs from farmhouses in Tiền Giang, Hậu Giang and other Mekong Delta provinces, and transport them to Sài Gòn (now HCM City) to sell at Chợ Lớn Market.

My mother worked very hard to earn a living to feed us. Her trade and hard work had the most influence on me.

I had to drop out of school at the age of 13 to help my mother. She taught me how to foster good relations with farmers, choose fresh eggs and the value of good customer service.

Despite having left school, I felt happy because I was able to help my mother and learn about the egg trade.

When I was 16 my mother was taken very ill, and she had to hand over her trade to me. At such a young age, I faced many difficulties, for example I had no money in hand even though I tried to borrow from my relatives.

I decided to purchase eggs on credit by meeting with each farm owner, and attempting to convince and implore them that I will pay them back right after the first batch of eggs was sold. They didn’t believe me at first, but after a little persuasion they gave me a chance. By purchasing directly from producers and selling to customers, I had my first capital investment two years later.  I had money to pay producers on time, and was able to win their trust.

My business quickly expanded to almost all Mekong Delta provinces, purchasing eggs and supplying them to customers promptly. In 2000, I set up a company with more than 100 workers.

Inner Sanctum: What are main factors behind your company’s success?

The first was using modern technology. In early 2000 the epidemic of H5N1 (commonly known as bird, or avian, flu) seemed to kill off the traditional chicken and duck breeding in the Mekong Delta.

We decided to import a processing line from the Netherlands at a cost of 650,000 euros, with a capacity of 65,000 eggs per hour.

We also invested VNĐ35 billion to build Việt Nam’s most modern plant in HCM City supplying organic eggs.

As a result, Vietnamese customers have benefited from eggs of an international standard on quality and food hygiene for the first time. Meanwhile, farmers have been able to restore some trust to continue their traditional poultry breeding.

Two years later we continued to invest more than VNĐ100 billion to import a second processing line with a capacity of 120,000 eggs/hour.

Inner Sanctum: How has your company helped farmers deal with difficulties, such as the bird flu epidemic?

In 2003, the bird flu epidemic hit farmers, chicken farms and egg business as a whole.

I witnessed thousands of chickens and ducks dying. Many farming households had to adapt and take on other produce.

My imported modern technology from the Netherlands helped breeders regain production.

Inner Sanctum: Can you tell us about your company’s process of checking egg quality?

We first clean the eggs, dry them and kill off any bacteria. The second part is inspecting the eggs to find rotten and low quality ones, and then covering them with a special oil to prevent further bacteria.

After finishing these processes, our eggs will be stamped and packaged.

All of our processes aim to ensure the highest quality and food hygiene standards for our customers.

Up until now we haven’t received any complaints.

Inner Sanctum: How does your company act to benefit farmers?

Farmers’ living standards have been improved because we’ve signed contracts to purchase all of their eggs.

In addition, we have co-ordinated with the National Centre for Agriculture Promotion to implement a programme to assist young farmers and guide them along the process of breeding.

Currently, thousands of farmers have joined safe poultry breeding lines in co-operation between themselves, scientists, businesses and the government.

This joint-venture model has assisted poor farmers with capital investment, baby birds, immunization, and output of their produce with stable pricing.

Inner Sanctum: How do you rate the potential and opportunity for Việt Nam’s organic eggs in the future?

The potential of using organic eggs is great but competition between companies is also great.

There are companies investing heavily in organic eggs, which means we have to try our utmost to compete with them.

Currently, we have 400 agents distributing and selling our products. This makes up 40 per cent of the market share.

Our products now have a presence in retail markets, supermarkets, restaurants and food processing factories nationwide. VNS

GLOSSARY

At the age of 12 I had to wake up very early in the morning to accompany her to purchase chicken and duck eggs from farmhouses in Tiền Giang, Hậu Giang and other Mekong Delta provinces, and transport them to Sài Gòn (now HCM City) to sell at Chợ Lớn Market.

To accompany someone means to be with them.

To purchase means to buy.

Her trade and hard work had the most influence on me.

If her mother’s trade and hard work had influence on Phạm Ba Huân, it had what it takes to shape her character.

She taught me how to foster good relations with farmers, choose fresh eggs and the value of good customer service.

If you have good relations with someone, you get on well with them.

To foster good relations means to encourage good relations.

Customer service means the help and advice offered to people by a business.

I decided to purchase eggs on credit by meeting with each farm owner, and attempting to convince and implore them that I will pay them back right after the first batch of eggs was sold.

To buy things on credit means to receive them and pay for them later, usually at the end of the month.

To implore means to ask someone to change their attitude towards something.

They didn’t believe me at first, but after a little persuasion they gave me a chance. 

Persuasion is the act of encouraging someone to make a certain decision.

By purchasing directly from producers and selling to customers, I had my first capital investment two years later.

Capital investment is money you put down to start a business or to give it more strength to make it grow.  

My business quickly expanded to almost all Mekong Delta provinces, purchasing eggs and supplying them to customers promptly.

Promptly means very quickly.

Inner Sanctum: What are main factors behind your company’s success?

Factors are things that add up to make it possible for something to happen.

In early 2000 the epidemic of H5N1 (commonly known as bird, or avian, flu) seemed to kill off the traditional chicken and duck breeding in the Mekong Delta.

When there is an epidemic, many people, or in this case birds, in the same place catch a disease at the same time.

Avian means to do with birds.

Breeding means giving birth to babies, or in the case of birds, chicks. 

We decided to import a processing line from the Netherlands at a cost of 650,000 euros, with a capacity of 65,000 eggs per hour.

To import means to buy something from another country.

A processing line for eggs is a structure that is especially made to have places for hens to live and lay eggs then for the eggs to land up where they can be collected and packaged.

We also invested VNĐ35 billion to build Việt Nam’s most modern plant in HCM City supplying organic eggs.

When you invest in something you spend money on it in the hope of making more money from it.

Organic eggs are eggs from chickens that have not been fed any chemicals or hormones but have been rather eating only natural food. 

As a result, Vietnamese customers have benefited from eggs of an international standard on quality and food hygiene for the first time. 

If something benefits you, it brings you something that is good for you.

Hygiene means health conditions.

Meanwhile, farmers have been able to restore some trust to continue their traditional poultry breeding.

To restore something means to fix it so that it once again becomes good.

I witnessed thousands of chickens and ducks dying.

To witness something means to see it happen.

Many farming households had to adapt and take on other produce.

If farming households adapt, they change in order to be able to function under different conditions.

Farmers’ living standards have been improved because we’ve signed contracts to purchase all of their eggs.

Contracts are formal deals.

In addition, we have co-ordinated with the National Centre for Agriculture Promotion to implement a programme to assist young farmers and guide them along the process of breeding.

To implement a programme means to put it in place.

To assist means to help.

Currently, thousands of farmers have joined safe poultry breeding lines in co-operation between themselves, scientists, businesses and the government.

Currently means now.

Co-operation means working together.

This joint-venture model has assisted poor farmers with capital investment, baby birds, immunization, and output of their produce with stable pricing.

A joint venture is a business project that involves two or more people, or companies.

Immunization means the giving of injections to stop diseases from happening in the future.

When there is stable pricing, the price stays much the same and does not go up and down all the time.

Inner Sanctum: How do you rate the potential and opportunity for Việt Nam’s organic eggs in the future?

The potential of organic eggs means the possibility of organic eggs doing very well.

There are companies investing heavily in organic eggs, which means we have to try our utmost to compete with them.

Utmost means very best.

Currently, we have 400 agents distributing and selling our products. This makes up 40 per cent of the market share.

The market share is the portion of a market controlled by a particular company or product.

Our products now have a presence in retail markets, supermarkets, restaurants and food processing factories nationwide.

To have a presence somewhere means to be there.

Retail markets are places where things are sold to the people who will use them rather than sell them on.

WORKSHEET

State whether the following sentences are true, or false:

1. Phạm Ba Huân is also known as Ba Huân.
2. Hậu Giang is a province in the Mekong Delta.
3. H5N1is commonly known as avian malaria.
4. There are 40 agents who distribute Phạm Ba Huân’s egg products.
5. Phạm Ba Huân bought a special processing line from the Netherlands that cost her 650,000 Dong.

ANSWERS:

© Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2017

1. True;  2. True;  3. False; 4. False; 5. False.