Aspiration to bring Vietnamese cocoa trees to reach the world
After nearly 10 years of taking over the company handed over by his father, Mr. Dang Truong Khanh (SN 1980) - Director of Cacao Trong Duc Co., Ltd (Dinh Quan district, Dong Nai province) fulfilled the dream that his father sent him.
Mr Khanh and his father together realized the dream of "reviving" the cocoa tree.
I fulfill my father's dream
Meet Mr. Dang Truong Khanh on a rainy day in early August, sitting next to a cup of hot cocoa, Mr. Khanh recounted the hard journey of his father and son with the desire to help revive a vulnerable tree " forgotten "of our country.
At the beginning of the story, Mr. Khanh mentioned his father with respect and gratitude. "Now, Father entrusts all his life to me, just hoping that I can do well my mission of Vietnamese cocoa products to consumers."
Mr. Khanh said, his father named Dang Tuong Kham (88 years old) was originally an excellent doctor - physician with 56 years of age of the Party. When he was still working in the unit, the 600th Division of Military Zone 7 in Tan Phu, his unit was associated with the Soviet Union to grow cocoa, but when the tree had fruit, the Soviet Union collapsed, resulting in cocoa pods having no " output".
At that time, the State only had policies to sponsor the planting of this tree in Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc and Dak Lak provinces, but not in Dong Nai.
After the cocoa fruit cannot be sold, people "sell and sell off" the raw fruits at a low price, but import the finished products at high prices. Then people only take seeds without taking advantage of other ingredients such as water, fruit flesh ... so his father thought that why the Vietnamese do not make their own products, make the most of the benefits of this fruit.
When he retired, the old physician started to work out what his unit thought. With the rare accrued salaries, he decided to start his business by buying land and growing cocoa. At the beginning, he met many difficulties, not only against the relatives but also from many local people.
And then with his determination, in 2006, Kham went to the arid land in Phu Hoa commune, established Trong Duc Company Limited. With the policy of proactive material areas for processing products, from a few hectares of family cocoa, Mr. Kham has linked with farmers in Dong Nai, Lam Dong and Binh Thuan provinces to expand the material area to 1,000. hectares in 2010.
Mr. Kham spent most of the accumulated money to buy seedlings, then sold them back to farmers for 6,000 VND / tree. Farmers only pay half in advance, the other half is paid after harvest. However, because the area of cocoa cultivation increased too fast, the technical staff was not enough to provide advice to farmers, making the tree grow unexpectedly, plus the rise of other industrial crops such as cashew and pepper. , people cut down cocoa trees.
Capital is a business enthusiast, so at first Khanh did not pay attention to the work of his father. “In 2010, when the company was in trouble, my father called out to help him with one hand, in fact at the time, only thinking about living near his father at the time to convince him to return to the city to rest. Because at that time I was in business, quite well. What is left here is turning into a farm to spend the weekend on home. ”
Mr. Khanh introduced Bungo cacao products to consumers.
However, when he was up close to his father, listening to his father's concerns and going with his father to meet the farmer, he looked at the beliefs of the farmers in the heart of the cocoa industry, he suddenly found himself responsible. Father fulfilled his wish to develop cocoa tree. And since then, Mr. Khanh officially took over the company.
In 2012, the company faced difficulties because the material area decreased by more than 700 hectares. To help people have more confidence in this crop, in 2015, Trong Duc sold all the land in the city to implement a scheme to write off the debt of selling seedlings to farmers. Gradually, people have more confidence in Trong Duc and replanted this tree.
"At that time, in addition to developing the material area, my father had been able to study some initial products from cocoa, such as cocoa powder, chocolate, cocoa liquor ... but not nearly consumed yet. OK. Therefore, I have to think of a way to sell. On the one hand, I reinforced the way of organizing the material area, this time it was reduced by 70% compared to before.
We re-signed contracts with farmers, technical instructions, receive product coverage ... with the criteria that my father set out to ensure the rights of farmers, we could lose, but not let farmers hole.
On the other hand, I find ways to sell, selling from cocoa beans to products from cocoa. I have to develop the processing segment to reduce the volume of raw goods because selling raw seeds is risky. My goal is to reduce selling raw cocoa beans and boost processing. ”
To fulfill his father's dream, at the end of 2014, Mr. Khanh had 14 months of continuous hard working with the Japanese. As a result, Kenkyusho Company - a joint venture between Trong Duc and a Japanese enterprise, was established in August 2015 in Singapore, in which Trong Duc specializes in raw materials and production, Japanese people will take care of the market. Since then, Trong Duc has produced many products to consumers at home and abroad.
Now, when looking back on this incident, Khanh's father and son see it as a "trip" that business people go through. Then he gently wrote about his father's dream - the dream of a cocoa group in the Southeast region, where people would enjoy clean cocoa from the farmers themselves.
Aspiration to bring Vietnamese cocoa to reach the world
Leading us to visit the booth with Bungo branded coconut bars, cashew nuts, peanuts ..., Khanh said proudly: "These products are produced by the company to serve. Tourists come here to relax. In addition, chocolate is also exported to South Korea and Japan. So far, nearly 30 products have been launched to the world ".
In order to bring Vietnamese cocoa to the world market, in 2014, Mr. Khanh found a partner who is a Japanese enterprise. Meanwhile, the Japanese sent people to the company to thoroughly understand the process of manufacturing raw materials, processing and ordering.
"When it comes out, it is better to buy fresh cocoa from farmers. The partners import chocolate products for processing, packaging and they know Vietnam to produce chocolates and not to export nuts. rough as before, "- Khanh said.
Trong Duc Cacao Co., Ltd is an enterprise that actively contributes to the "National target of building new rural areas" program for the period 2016 - 2020.
In 2015, during a trade and investment promotion trip with the leaders of Dong Nai province to the United States, the company brought some chocolates to the guests, most admiring the chocolate flavor produced in Dong Nai.
From here, Dong Nai leaders are interested in building cooperation and production projects associated with cocoa consumption in the area. The province has supported capital and has set up a strategy for material areas for Trong Duc Cocoa Co., Ltd. to help farmers earn more income.
Currently, the cocoa material area of the Company is UTZ certified by the Netherlands and has 4 products that represent consumers who voted for high quality Vietnamese products. After 13 years of efforts, today Cacao Trong Duc brand not only resonates in the domestic market but also in countries around the world such as Japan, South Korea ... to visit, research and appreciate. .
The company is also proposing the province to establish an agricultural product processing industry cluster in the cocoa growing area. In addition, the company has invested in the most modern production machine in Asia in the production of super fine cocoa products.
In the next 5 years Trong Duc will continue to promote the cocoa powder line, as well as link cocoa powder with other agricultural products to create special products such as durian cocoa powder, ginger cocoa powder, cocoa powder. medicine…
With a plan to increase domestic sales by 60% within 2 years, the company is targeting traditional channels in coffee shops, department stores and traditional markets. With the slogan: "Your health is our heart", surely by 2020, Trong Duc cocoa products will have a firm foothold in the Vietnam and the world market.
Cacao Trong Duc is also one of the businesses that have made a positive contribution to the success of the National Target Program on New Rural Construction for the period 2016 - 2020 and the "One Product - One Commune - OCOP" Program.
In addition to accompanying and supporting farmers through technical training courses, cooperatives and dozens of cooperative groups, Cacao Trong Duc also cares and takes care of the spiritual life of children. farmers through the award of scholarships to poor students who overcome difficulties, difficult households with children with excellent academic achievements.
Source phapluatplus.vn