Tra Vinh Focuses Investment on Processing Industry

Le Tan Luc, Director of the Tra Vinh Department of Industry, said industrial production value of Tra Vinh province increased from VND 307 billion when it was re-established to VND 2,000 billion. Its growth rate for the 2001-2005 period was more than 23 per cent. Tra Vinh industry is not large-scaled but has great potential, particularly in processing with on-the-spot materials.

 

Frozen seafood processingisone of the advantages of Tra Vinh province, which has four plants, including the May 19 plant of the Cuu Long Seafood Company, the Tadaco Company of the Duyen Hai Company, the Long Toan plant and a shurimi fried fish plant.   The plants have a capacity of between 2,000 and 2,500 tonnes per annum. Over the past years, local seafood processing enterprises have renewed its technology and equipment, diversified products, which have met standards to be exported to Europe, North America, and Japan. At the same time, four private enterprises in Chau Thanh district and Tra Vinh town collect materials and work as subcontractors for exported seafood processing and exporting enterprises in Tra Vinh and other provinces. They have made a contribution to increasing the province’s seafood processing and export value. As a result, the province has seen an increase in output and an improvement in quality.

Coconut processing hasbeen created with favourable conditions by Tra Vinh province, under its Decision 05/QD-UBT. At present, the Tra Bac Joint Stock Company produces charcoal products, 90 per cent of which are exported to Japan, and many other products of coconuts. The province has two other enterprises, processing coconut meat for export, let alone 35 establishments producing coconut fibre, one establishment producing carpets of coconut fibre, one establishment producing charcoal, and six establishment producing coconut oil.

 

Most coconut products have had markets. Charcoal, for example, has found a foothold in the international market. Other coconut products do not have a high economic value. They are made for generating jobs for local people. Coconut oil alone faces many difficulties due to low prices in recent years, which resulted in a lack of capital for enterprises to renew their equipment and technology. Tra Vinh has had three plants processing coconut meat for export, whose products have entered European and American markets. Local authorities are calling for more investors to diversify products, thus helping increase economic value, promoting co-operation between coconut farmers and producers. The province has boosted the making of coconut handicrafts.

 

Rice husking and polishing industryhas 826 husking establishments with a capacity of around 1.2 million tonnes per annum, and six polishing establishments with a capacity of 250,000 tonnes per year. However, these establishments have outdated equipment and technology, so they serve the domestic demand mainly. To improve the quality of rice for export, Tra Vinh is calling for projects of modern technology and equipment.

 

Sugar production industry has only the Tra Vinh sugar plant with a capacity of more than 300,000 tonnes of sugarcanes. The province’s sugarcane output is around 700,000 tonnes per year, so materials are mainly sold to producers outside the province. Other local producing establishments closed due to outdated technology and equipment, resulting in poor effectiveness and high production costs. Some can produce sugar for local confectionary establishments only. Tra Vinh province is calling for investment from all economic sectors to the industry. Concretely, the province wants to build another plant with the same capacity with the Tra Vinh plant, and other plants manufacturing post-sugar products.

 

Also, Tra Vinh has some other farm-produce, such as peanuts with a total area of 3,544 hectares and an output of 13,480 tonnes per year, maize with an area of 5,214 hectares and an output of 23,000 tonnes, mushroom with a yearly output of around 10,000 tonnes. The province has yet to have processing plants for the farm-produce.

 

Luc said Tra Vinh province should improve its investment environment by perfecting its policies and mechanisms for the development of industry and handcrafts. At the same time, the development of craft villages and vocational training should be boosted alongside scientific and technological application for improving quality of products, reducing production costs, increasing economic effectiveness. Also, the province should have trade promotion policies for local products.

 

At the same time, the province will boost co-operative ties between enterprises and local farmers via contracts, in which enterprises provide in advance materials and buy products of farmers, under the Government’s Decision 80. This is to secure benefits of enterprises and farmers. Also, the province will encourage scientists to promote their researches to meet the demand of farmers on high-yield varieties, thus helping reduce production costs.