HCMC – The local firm TH Milk Foodstuff Joint Stock Co. on Sunday launched its first products in a US$1.2-billion dairy farming and processing project in the central province of Nghe An.
The TH True Milk products are the first fruits of the company’s dairy plant project that will develop 12 dairy farms and a 500 ton/ day processing factory in Nghia Dan District.
The US$350 million investment in the first period, from now to July 2012, will go to a modern farming system for 45,000 cows, of which 30,000 are milk cows, and the factory. By 2017, the number of cows is expected to increase to 137,000 and the factory will turn out 500 million liters of milk per day to meet 50% of the country’s dairy products demand.
The Vietnamese company began work on the dairy project in October last year and the automated milk processing facility in May 2010 using European technology in the first phase. TH will kick off the second phase immediately after phase one is completed.
TH Milk Foodstuff Joint Stock Co., has been developing a retail store chain named TH True Mart to sell its products and others including meat, fruit and vegetables. The company now has nine TH True Mart outlets in Hanoi and two others in Nghe An.
Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong recalled his trip to Nghe An a year ago when he was responsible for assessing the progress of the dairy cow project. At that time, he doubted that the project would be implemented according to schedule due to the volume of workload. "When I visited the project for the second time, I am surprised at the work that has been done by staff members. It must be proof of their real love for their work that motivated them to work so hard" he said
The US$1.2 billion project is invested by the TH Milk Foodstuff JSC with the financial investment consultancy provided by the Bac A Joint Stock Commercial Bank. Located in Western Nghe An, the 37,000 ha project has provided stable jobs for a large number of local workers. Tran Ngoc Thanh's family members were delighted when offered stable jobs at the plant. Thanh works as an IT staff member at the foodstuff center while his wife works in administration. Although they are busy, they can take home VND5 million a month each, making them committed to the success of the plant.
Tran Thi Hoa, a local resident living in Nghia Binh Commune, Nghe An expects that her children will become wealthier. "The project has changed the landscape here. It is good that our children have stable jobs, our future lives will be more prosperous". Her nephew is working in Tan Dao, a special caring center for imported cows. She expects that her son will be recruited to work in the plant in the near future.
The company now has 10,000 milk cows imported from New Zealand, Uruguay and Canada. It has continuously expanded its size. By 2017, the number of cows is expected to increase to 137,000 and the factory will turn out 500 million liters of milk a day to meet 50% of the country's dairy products demand.
It is difficult to raise cattle in tropical areas because cows are likely to be affected by disease. Cows raised in TH farms benefit from the most advanced technology available, which provides natural nutrition sources. Grasses are fermented by nutrition experts to control the development of viruses found in the environment. Fresh water sources are filtered by Amiad technology. Milk products are produced by the most advanced milking processing lines in the world. Cows receive health checks through a 100% computerized and listen to music and take a bath every day. Chips are tied in cow legs to maximize the precision of collected data, in order to help detect diseases at early stage, monitor milk quality and milk sanitation.
Leading animal experts from developed cattle industry countries such as Israel, New Zealand and Philippine are working at TH plant in all phases such as health monitoring, care and examination to ensure the best milk source possible.
Senior management system and modern closed production cycle are invested and controlled synchronously; from grass growing, farm building, foodstuff processing, animal management, packaging and distribution. The company now has nine TH True Mart outlets in Hanoi and two others in Nghe An.
This is a large-scale cutting-edge project will gradually meet domestic milk consumer demands and replace imported milk products, said Thai Duong, General Director of the Bac A Joint Stock Commercial Bank. Phan Chi Dung, Head of the Light Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that fresh milk output currently met 21 percent of the domestic demand. Average milk consumption in Vietnam is 14 liters per person a year, behind Thailand with 23 liters per year and China with 25 liters per year.
