Cacao Trong Duc Company Limited: "Agriculture must be associated with processing if you want to master"
When talking with Mr. Dang Tuong Kham - the founder of Cacao Trong Duc Co., Ltd and his son, Mr. Dang Tuong Khanh - the current CEO of the Company, we absorbed the value of proverbs: " If there is a head, then it should be ”. "Hold" by two enthusiastic "captains", firmly believing that Trong Duc brand and Vietnamese cocoa products will affirm its position in Vietnam and the world market with quality processed products. high.
From the dream come true
Mr. Dang Tuong Kham said, "My dream is to build a cocoa conglomerate in the Southeast." This year is 86 years old, at the age of "cross-bred" but Mr. Kham is still full of enthusiasm, a great passion of an entrepreneur. Being a doctor - an excellent physician with 56 years of age, he said, "At that time, the 600th Division of Military Region 7 in Tan Phu had a connection with the Soviet Union to grow cocoa, but when there was fruit, the Soviet Union collapsed. , resulting in cocoa without "output". At that time, the State only had a policy to sponsor the planting of this kind of tree in the provinces of Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc and Dak Lak; But not in Dong Nai. Fortunately, because of my career, I have the opportunity to interact with this plant. This is a tree named "food of the gods", not only industrial plants, food plants but also raw materials in very good medicinal herbs. Seeing that my people only sell raw fruits at low prices, they import products with high prices; Then people only take seeds without taking advantage of other ingredients such as water, fruit flesh ... I wonder why Vietnamese people do not make their own products, making the most of the benefits of this fruit! ".
Thinking of doing it, after retiring, the old physician started working on bringing the dream into reality. As Mr. Kham said, "Dependent on career until we receive it at that time." I am a Party member, so I will carry out the Party line on the agricultural front. ” In the first phase, he met many difficulties, not only objections to relatives but also from many local people. However, that year (in 2006), he was still determined to borrow and pledge accumulated assets after many years of working as a physician ... about VND 30 billion. He invests in farmers in Dong Nai, Binh Thuan and Lam Dong provinces to borrow 50% of the value of seedlings. Everyone was suspicious of the ability to recover capital, but he was determined to retain his ideas and passions with many "bold" decisions such as signing a contract to ensure the lowest purchase price for farmers was 4,000. VND / kg of fruits (if the market price increases The company still raises prices for farmers). However, during the implementation of the cocoa purchasing policy with relatives, Mr. Kham faced many difficulties. When it was time to harvest, many traders came to buy and pushed up the price, causing people to refuse to sell the fruit to the Company. However, he thought, "As for the farmers, the Company, having money and losing farmers, will lose the Company", so he decided to delete the 3 billion debt for farmers.
Not only increasing production, Mr. Kham always tries to maximize the efficiency of cocoa. He began to research cocoa products such as wine, candy, milk ... to take advantage of 100% of cocoa components such as water, fruit meat, shells ... Because of high medicinal properties, he used using the method of processing cocoa according to the traditional medicine method "the envoy of the envoy", which means that the medicinal plant works from the roots to the tree, from the leaves to the left, with the effect of supporting each other; the same method of production is east-west combined, from craft to modern. So, the "Made in Vietnam" cocoa products of Vietnamese people and Vietnamese people were born. Proud that Mr. Dang Tuong Kham is the first Vietnamese to produce alcohol products from this tree and his business is also evaluated by the International Cocoa Association (ICCO) as "model of sample ”of Vietnamese cocoa. On November 26, 2018, he was honored to receive the Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for the successful implementation of the Party's TAM NONG in the field of cocoa. That is "Implementing a chain of links with farmers, creating a sustainable cocoa area in 3 provinces: Dong Nai - Binh Thuan - Lam Dong, now spreading to Ba Ria - Vung Tau. For 13 years, the Company still insisted on following the original guidelines, never leaving people even for a day. ”
"Hereditary"
Talking about Mr. Dang Truong Khanh - The successive General Director of Trong Duc Cacao Co., Ltd. is a testament to "hereditary career". After completing his military service and deciding to establish a business in Ho Chi Minh City, he was given the "order" of Father - Mr. Kham back to Dinh Quan district instead of deploying a project to develop cocoa trees in the land. this. “I have received a valuable" job fire "from three. My father told the farmers that when Vietnam opened its doors deeply, the big corporations in the world would rush in, the farmers would stand alone, they could not stand. So my people will be poor forever. So farmers have to gather and organize cultivation, like grandparents say "a tree should not be young, three trees bunched up to make a high mountain". Ba had sex and advised his relatives to join the club, when the Company went down to the club to collect goods, people did not have to sell through traders. In three years, three clubs were organized and the material area was planned to be more than 1,000 hectares in three provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Thuan and Lam Dong. And so, after 13 years, the farmer has not left the farmer for a day ”- Mr. Khanh said.
It is also by implementing the guidelines from the Party and the State; adhering to the motto "taking people as the root - the people who enjoy the people - the leadership party - the government organization - the business is the motivation - the bank supports", the father and son of Kham did not hesitate to support farmers very much techniques for care and prevention of pests and diseases on this fastidious crop. It can be said that each day Cacao Trong Duc has been trying to get its ideas to enrich the homeland and the country of Vietnam.
The way forward...
At the stop at Cocoa Trong Duc Co., Ltd., visitors will be allowed to visit the cocoa garden in the harvest season (around May & 6, November & 12 of the year) with ripe fruits as well as enjoy Chocolate and pure cocoa cups are produced from this factory. Visitors can directly see the drying process, fermenting cocoa beans and cocoa production. Currently the cocoa material area of the Company is UTZ certified by the Netherlands, and there are 4 products that represent consumers who voted for high quality Vietnamese products. After 13 years of efforts, today Cacao Trong Duc brand not only has resonance in the domestic market but also is visited, researched and appreciated by countries in the world such as Japan and Korea. .
Currently, the company is proposing the province to establish an agricultural product processing industrial cluster in the cocoa growing area. Mr. Kham and Mr. Khanh said, "If you want to own, the agricultural sector must be associated with processing, so in this work Trong Duc hopes to receive help from local authorities as well as investors." . At present, the Company has invested in the most modern production machine in Asia to produce super smooth cocoa products. In 5 years, Trong Duc will continue to promote cocoa powder, as well as linking cocoa powder with other agricultural products to create special products such as durian cocoa powder, ginger cocoa powder, cocoa powder medicinal materials ... With the plan to increase domestic sales of 60% within 2 years, the company is aiming at traditional channels in coffee shops, department stores, and traditional markets. With the slogan: "Your health is our heart", surely by 2020, Trong Duc's cocoa products will have a firm foothold in the Vietnamese and world markets. As Mr. Kham, a 56-year-old Party member, the 86-year-old Party emphasized, "In terms of publicity, we will continue to stick to the successful implementation of the Party's and State's lines and resolutions. On private terms, deep processing will be carried out from cocoa pods with material areas, ensuring that farmers do not depend on world prices. Trong Duc is the first cocoa company in Vietnam to have a raw material area and a deep processing plant. In the future, the company will continue to develop the model of joint stock companies, sell shares to cocoa farmers and associate with other companies into DONACACAO Cocoa Group.