Advantages of growing and processing cocoa
In particular, the Southeast region has attracted many large enterprises and corporations to invest in processing and exporting factories for this product. This is also the region where many provinces and cities have invested in closed-chain production areas from planting, processing, and exporting cocoa in a sustainable manner, bringing high economic efficiency.
Leading in output and productivity
Currently, the whole country has 3,471 hectares of cocoa trees, of which the Southeast has nearly 1.4 thousand hectares. Although the Central Highlands is the region with the largest cocoa area in the country with nearly 1.7 thousand hectares, the Southeast is the cocoa growing region with the highest productivity in the country. Specifically, the average cocoa yield in the Southeast region is 22.9 quintals/hectare, the Central Highlands region only reaches an average of 13.8 quintals/hectare, the Mekong Delta region is 13 quintals/hectare... Accordingly, although the Southeast region only accounts for 40% of the cocoa growing area, it accounts for 48% of Vietnam's cocoa output.
Achieving the above results is not only because the localities in the Southeast region have favorable natural conditions, but also because many provinces and cities have a history of being attached to cocoa trees. During its heyday, many provinces such as Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau developed thousands of hectares of cocoa.
With a cocoa area of more than 623 hectares, Dong Nai is one of the top provinces in the Southeast region in terms of cocoa growing area. The province also leads the country in cocoa productivity, reaching 26.6 quintals/hectare.
Mr. Duong Di Tan, in charge of purchasing cocoa of Trong Duc Cocoa Company Limited (Dinh Quan district), commented that the current productivity and quality of cocoa grown in the Southeast region in general, and Dong Nai province in particular, are much higher than the average of the whole country, thanks to favorable soil and climate conditions. Specifically, cocoa grown in the rocky land of Dinh Quan is more difficult to plant and care for than in other areas, but the rocky land helps drain water well, the leaves of the cocoa trees when pruned are used to cover the soil, to rot naturally as a source of organic fertilizer, and have a good moisture retention effect, so cocoa grown in this area has the highest yield. The soil quality also creates delicious quality cocoa beans with rich flavor. In Vietnam, cocoa production is mainly under UTZ certification (a sustainable farming program worldwide). To date, the whole country has nearly 370 hectares of UTZ certified cocoa. Dong Nai is the leading locality and has the largest UTZ certified cocoa area in the country with more than 200 hectares.
Currently, Ba Ria - Vung Tau is the locality with the second largest cocoa area in the country with 625 hectares. In particular, cocoa trees are concentrated in Chau Duc district. This locality has established Chau Duc Cocoa Cooperative as a link with many large processing enterprises in the province and Ho Chi Minh City to consume products for farmers. This locality is continuing to expand the cocoa growing area according to organic standards to meet the needs of the demanding export market.
Recently, enterprises investing in deep cocoa processing in the Southeast region have regularly cooperated with universities in Ho Chi Minh City in investing in cocoa variety research; researching diverse processed products from cocoa. Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City International University has cooperated with Trong Duc Cocoa Company Limited to conduct research projects on processing high-value foods and drinks from cocoa waste products such as: production of cookies and non-fried instant noodles supplemented with cocoa shell powder; process of producing vegetarian sausages and pectin from cocoa powder; process of producing nutritional drinks from cocoa pulp...
Forming a sustainable production chain
The Southeast region has an advantage over other localities in concentrating large corporations and companies in exporting and processing cocoa products. In addition to foreign corporations, the Southeast region has many domestic enterprises investing in deep processing of cocoa products that are now well-known in the market such as: Trong Duc Cocoa Company Limited (Dong Nai province); Vietnam Cocoa Joint Stock Company (Vina Cacao - Ho Chi Minh City); Thanh Dat Cocoa Trading Service Company Limited, Binon Cacao Joint Stock Company (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province); Puratos Grand Place Vietnam Company Limited (Binh Duong province); MAROU Chocolate Joint Stock Company (Ho Chi Minh City)...
In addition to exporting dry cocoa beans, these companies also invest in deep processing of product lines such as: cocoa powder, cocoa butter, confectionery, milk, wine, especially chocolate... which are well consumed in the domestic and export markets.
Typically, Trong Duc Cocoa Company Limited has invested millions of USD in processing factories and raw material areas. In addition to exporting raw cocoa beans, the company currently has nearly 30 deeply processed products such as chocolate, cocoa liquor, cocoa powder... which are consumed well in the domestic market and many typical products have been voted by consumers as High Quality Vietnamese Goods. Many products of this company have achieved 4-star OCOP, not only consumed well domestically but also exported to demanding markets such as Japan, Korea... This company is also the investor of a large cocoa field project in Dong Nai. The company also invests in raw material areas in many other provinces and cities with a total raw material area of thousands of hectares. Thanh Dat Cocoa Trading Service Company Limited has built a chain from planting to processing cocoa. Up to now, Thanh Dat has cooperated with farmers to expand the cocoa growing area in Chau Duc district to more than 300 hectares. This enterprise also invests in deep processing, and the processed products are exported well in the world market.
Participating in the 24th annual conference of the ASEAN Cocoa Club recently held in Vung Tau City (Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province), Professor Divina M. Amalin, of the Philippine Cocoa Coordination Board, commented that Vietnam in general, and the Southeast region in particular, have very special potential for cocoa development compared to other countries in the region such as: good land, techniques and advantages in production organization. However, to develop the cocoa industry sustainably, Vietnam needs to have a sustainable farming process; develop cocoa in the direction of not increasing area and quantity but focusing on intensive farming to increase productivity, product quality and deep processing. Typical examples include the production-processing chain models of Trong Duc Cocoa Company Limited and Vung Tau High-Tech Agriculture Company Limited... which have formed chains and focused on supporting farmers in terms of techniques.
Sharing the same view, Dr. Le Quoc Thanh, Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, said that in order to develop sustainable cocoa, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to invest in research projects and develop cocoa varieties with high productivity and quality. At the same time, it is necessary to support the building of a brand for Vietnamese cocoa beans and products processed from Vietnamese cocoa beans. An important solution is to reorganize production and promote linkages between enterprises and farmers. In which, enterprises will be the center and the main force to promote production, invest in building raw material areas on a concentrated scale, and link with farmers. Enterprises also need to promote linkages with producers through clubs, interest groups, linkage groups, cooperatives, farms... to form concentrated production areas. This is also the direction that cocoa growing provinces in the Southeast region are focusing on implementing in the coming time to develop sustainable cocoa trees and build a brand for the quality of cocoa in the whole region.