The agricultural export market is continuously growing with high demand, offering significant opportunities for processed food export businesses in Vietnam. Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, Chairman and CEO of Westfood Joint Stock Company, emphasized the importance at this moment of autonomy, expanding raw material areas, and establishing sustainable collaborations with farmers.
Experts suggest that amid global supply chain disruptions, energy crises, and other challenges, Vietnamese agri-food companies with stable domestic raw material supplies will enhance their competitive advantage, meeting the diverse and stringent demands of the international market.
Westfood is recognized as one of the leading canned fruit processing companies in Vietnam. According to Vietnam’s 2022 export data, Westfood ranks fourth in frozen fruit export value and is among the top 10 canned fruit exporters. “To achieve our current position, apart from investing in advanced machinery and processing technology meeting strict international standards, Westfood has, since 2015, strategically expanded and sourced raw material areas, thus producing a wide variety of stable and sustainable products,” shared Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, Chairman and CEO of Westfood.
Westfood has successfully piloted the King MD2 pineapple variety in Phung Hiep, Hau Giang. This pineapple variety is among the sweetest and most uniformly sized in the world. In 2022, Westfood cultivated 140 hectares of MD2 pineapples, aiming to reach 1,000 hectares by 2028. Of this, areas meeting the Global Gap standard account for 50% of the total area. Besides King MD2, the company also focuses on developing raw material areas for its flagship products like mango, lotus seed, papaya, and dragon fruit.
Westfood Surveys Lotus Seed Cultivation Areas
The successful piloting of the MD2 pineapple raw material region paves the way for the company’s further expansion. Alongside partnering with farmers in a buyback contract model for raw materials, Westfood is also collaborating with them to survey and evaluate cultivation areas nationwide that meet input material standards, ensuring abundant supply for its factory in Can Tho and an upcoming project in Hau Giang.
Westfood Surveys Sweet Potato Growing Areas in Gia Lai
In its 10-year development plan up to 2030, Westfood aspires to be a multi-billion-dollar company, elevating the Westfood brand both nationally and internationally. With this vision, Westfood will continue to heavily invest in developing raw material areas in Hau Giang and explore potential regions in neighboring provinces, ensuring stable raw material sources for their factories.
With strategic, sustainable, and self-reliant investments in raw material regions, Westfood is on its way to becoming the ambassador for Vietnamese fruits, elevating the image of Vietnamese agricultural products in the global market.
