Alongside with farmers to develop raw material areas for pineapples MD2, Western Food Processing Joint Stock Company (Westfood) in Can Tho city has gradually stabilized input materials, meeting strict criteria of importers, penetrating fastidious markets such as Australia, Japan, Korea …
* Could you please tell us, WestFood specializes in processing and exporting many types of agricultural products, then what is the reason for choosing MD2 pineapple varieties to develop key material areas?
– The company processes and exports a variety of Vietnamese fruits such as jackfruit, mango, pineapple, papaya, dragon fruit … Yet in order to reach a decision of focusing on pineapple trees, there are many factors. In which, the demand for consumption on the world market is relatively wide, not as unstable as some other fruits.
Accordingly, the company decided to focus on research and investment in pineapple. In particular, MD2 pineapple is the preeminent and popular pineapple variety worldwide.That is why, since the end of 2015, the company has deployed seed testing and worked with foreign experts to provide technical guidance.
In 3 years, the company deployed MD2 pineapple trial planting in Vi Thanh (Hau Giang province) and Go Quao (Kien Giang province) and achieved very encouraging results.
By the end of 2018, the company completed the procedures and approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop MD2 pineapple on a large scale.
From the original 2 ha, by the end of 2020, the company has mainly developed this pineapple variety in Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang province with an area of approximately 100 ha. According to the plan, WestFood will increase the area of raw material for MD2 pineapple to 500ha by 2023.
* How is the market for processed products from MD2 pineapple is the company oriented, sir?
– Following the company general strategy that is focusing on premium market distribution. Currently, MD2 pineapple takes advantage of the region and mainly targeted to Asia, Australia to reduce competition with the ancestral varieties of MD2 pineapple in Costa Rica, Honduras (Central America).
Specifically, the company directs attention to Japanese, Korean, and Australian markets. The company also sets a strategy to develop the domestic market. At the beginning, in 2020, the company also succeeded in bringing MD2 pineapple into a chain of high-end fruit stores such as Farmers Market, Nam An Market in Ho Chi Minh City.
In the year 2021 and the coming years, the company will introduce its products to convenience stores and foreign supermarkets in Vietnam such as Aeon or Lotte Mart nationwide with fresh pineapple and value-added processing products such as canned pineapple, IQF fast frozen.
Currently, the company emphasizes on exporting which is about 95%. Nevertheless, in 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has made adjustments and redirects to serve the goal of developing domestic brands.
Expanding the domestic market is also meant to regulate the market in case of fluctuations in foreign markets, the company will have a “buffer zone” to advance the domestic market, adjust the exporting scheme.
* Not only with MD2 pineapple, as for product lines, what strategy does the company have in the coming time on formulating material areas as well as enlarging the markets?
– Up to the goal of sustainable growth, any food processing company eagers to build raw material areas for processing, so as to meet the requirements of customers.
For large clients, there are typically pre-orders from 6 months to 1 year. Hence, if the company has its own sustainable raw material areas, the company will be more proactive in approaching and generating customers.
Consequently, the company is dwelling on forming the MD2 pineapple material area so that it will be easier to deploy the remaining products on the basis of its good foundation.
Thank you Sir!
Fruit processing and freezing process at the WestFood manufacturing plant.
