Bac Ninh: Linking production, increasing the value of agricultural products

BAC NINH - Bac Ninh is not only an "industrial capital" but also a key area for the development of agricultural commodities, especially fruit trees and vegetables. Thanks to the promotion of links between farmers, cooperatives and processing enterprises, many key products have reached far and wide, affirming the position of Vietnamese agricultural products. To further increase the value, the province is focusing on promoting production linkages associated with processing.

Many agricultural products "exported"

VIFOCO Import Export Joint Stock Company (Tien Phong Ward) is a large agricultural processing, packaging and exporting unit in Bac Ninh , including lychee. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duc, Deputy Director of the Company, said that the distance from the Phuc Hoa early lychee growing area to the factory is only 15-17 km. Fresh fruit from the growing area after harvest is quickly brought to the processing and preservation area. Thanks to the good work of linking production and processing right at the locality, the intermediate costs due to transportation and waiting time are significantly reduced. In 2024, VIFOCO will for the first time consume the output of Phuc Hoa early lychee with a stable price of 30-35 thousand VND/kg; the output is committed to increase according to the roadmap. In 2025, the enterprise will also be successful when for the first time exporting 20 tons of Luc Ngan main crop lychee "overseas" by sea to the United States. Up to now, Bac Ninh lychees through VIFOCO have been present in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and have been positively received by foreign distribution systems. This year, the province's lychee output reached more than 205 thousand tons - the highest ever. Of which, domestic consumption reached 62%, export reached a record 78.2 thousand tons, bringing total revenue from lychees and ancillary services to over 6,200 billion VND.

Workers of Luc Son Agricultural Service Cooperative transport fresh longan to prepare for export to the Australian market.

Along with lychee, this year for the first time, Luc Son Agricultural Service Cooperative's longan fruit was successfully exported to Australia by a joint venture. The enterprise purchased longan from farmers at a stable price of 25,000 VND/kg, then processed and packaged it before exporting. The above price is much higher than selling raw fruit in the traditional market. In addition to the above enterprises, some units such as Ameii Vietnam, Toan Cau, Rong Do, GOC... have accompanied farmers in the stages of purchasing, packaging, irradiating and exporting, helping agricultural products to be consumed smoothly, with added value many times higher than domestic consumption. The successful export of fresh longan products to Australia and bringing lychee to many demanding countries by sea and air continues to open up opportunities to open up markets for many other agricultural products. Currently, the provincial authorities are actively working with the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection ( Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ) to build a management dossier for growing areas for products such as custard apple, guava, apple, dragon fruit, green banana and many other crops... and at the same time negotiating with partners to expand the export market for the province's agricultural products.

Open doors to investors

As a locality with a large fruit and vegetable growing area in the North, in recent years, the province has implemented many policies to support localities in developing commodity agriculture. Thanks to that, hundreds of large-scale concentrated agricultural production areas have been formed in the area; productivity and quality are increasing. According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the whole province has more than 184 thousand hectares of agricultural land; about 53,900 hectares of fruit trees, with a total value of over 7,400 billion VND/year. The vegetable growing area reaches nearly 31,000 hectares, with an output of about 626,000 tons/year, and an estimated total value of 3,600 billion VND/year. The whole province maintains 404 growing area codes, including 94 codes serving the domestic market, 310 export codes and 43 codes of fresh fruit packaging facilities. With many preferential policies, a number of agricultural processing enterprises have been playing the role of a bridge to bring the province's sweet fruits to the markets of China, the United States, Japan, Australia, the EU, the Middle East, etc. Although achieving many positive results, according to analysis by authorities and enterprises, the value of agricultural production of the province is not commensurate with its potential.

To promote the linkage of agricultural production with processing, Bac Ninh is opening its doors to welcome investors to build factories producing fruit juice, drying, freezing agricultural products... with the viewpoint: The province prioritizes supporting tax and land rental policies, ensuring the supply of raw materials; enterprises invest in equipment and technology.

To increase the value of agricultural products and meet the criteria set by importing countries, in addition to safe production, transparency in origin, and building stable raw material areas, processing technology is identified as a key role. Currently, the province does not have many large enterprises investing in production and deep processing of agricultural products. In fact, the agricultural sector of the whole country has witnessed farmers in many areas growing watermelon, dragon fruit, durian... in dire straits when having to sell their products at low prices, one of the reasons is that the processing stage is not yet developed.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture, many strong agricultural products such as custard apple, dragon fruit, guava, green banana, etc. of the province have built safe growing areas, but because they have not been deeply processed, the selling price is sometimes unstable, causing growers to suffer losses.

According to the plan, in 2026, Bac Ninh will increase the lychee export rate to 45% of total output (an increase of 8% compared to 2025). Of which, China accounts for about 40%, high-end markets such as the EU, the United States, Australia, Japan... account for 5%. The province also aims to expand the consumption market for processed vegetable products. Therefore, the participation of processing enterprises helps to prolong the preservation and consumption time as well as diversify processed products from original products through extraction and pressing techniques; original drying... Thereby reducing pressure and dependence on seasonal consumption forms.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, the unit is coordinating with functional agencies to actively guide investors to build agricultural processing infrastructure at logistics centers, industrial parks and clusters; especially encouraging the construction of processing factories right in the main fruit and vegetable growing areas, and mountainous communes.

Previously, before being exported, Bac Ninh lychees and other agricultural products had to go through intermediate irradiation units in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City according to the requirements of the importing country, resulting in high transportation costs and waiting time. In an effort to overcome this difficulty, the province has a policy of bringing processing and exporting enterprises closer together through a program of association, cooperation in production and processing, irradiation, and export procedures right in the province. A representative of Hanel PT New Generation Technology Joint Stock Company, Tien Son Industrial Park, said that the unit produces and supplies SASAKI machines with the function of drying pure agricultural products with large capacity. If cooperating with agricultural processing enterprises, it will open up great opportunities to bring harmonious benefits to all parties. This is a new direction supported by the provincial leaders. In the long term, each locality and growing area needs to plan land to build processing service supply facilities invested and managed by the private sector. Thereby reducing the pressure of "hot" consumption of fresh agricultural products, prolonging product distribution time on the market and increasing the value of agricultural products.

 

Article and photos: Mai Toan - Hoai Thu

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/bac-ninh-lien-ket-san-xuat-tang-gia-tri-nong-san-postid426098.bbg