Vietnamese-French joint venture Proconco, one of the largest suppliers of animal feed in Vietnam, last week inaugurated a new USD$9.3 million feed factory in the Nhon Hoa Industrial Park, located in the central province of Binh Dinh.
The new feed mill is the Proconco’s 7th plant in Vietnam, with the new feed mill joining its two existing plants in Dong Nai and its other plants in Haiphong, Can Tho, Hung Yen and Hanoi.
Chairwoman of Proconco, Nguyen Thi Le Hong, said the new feed mill covers five hectares and has a production capacity of 150,000 tonnes of feed per year.
Hong added that a second phase for the development of the facility is planned for a future date, which would see the company invest an additional USD$18.7 million to double capacity at the feed plant. According to Hong, the new feed plant will meet the increasing demand for animal feed in central and Central Highlands provinces of Vietnam.
Animal feed companies in Vietnam have faced fierce competition, but Proconco has sold 1.3 million tonnes of products thanks to its model production line.
According to the Vietnam Animal Feed Association, this year the total capacity of animal feed is set to increase 10 per cent compared to the same period last year.
In Vietnam the compound feed industry has grown at a rate of 13-15% per year. Last year, 17 million tonnes of animal feed was produced in Vietnam with 50 foreign-invested companies accounting for 25% of the number of firms and 65-70% market share of the country’s animal feed output. Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group alone holds a 15% market share with Proconco having 10% share.
In 2015, total feed output in Vietnam is expected to reach 18 to 20 million tonnes, and estimated to reach 25 to 26 million tonnes by 2020.
Last year, Vietnam imported 9.2 million tonnes of animal feed and additives, worth $4.5 billion, up 27.46 per cent on-year. Products imported include protein-rich feed such as soybean, meat and fish powder and energy-rich products such as wheat, corn and bran. In the first ten months of this year, Vietnam spent $2.79 billion importing animal feed and supplemental foods, up 6.3 per cent on-year, mainly from Argentina (38.4 per cent), the US (12.2 per cent) and China (9 per cent).
Founded in 1991, Vietnamese-French Cattle Feed JSC ("Proconco”) was the first joint venture between France and Vietnam in the feed manufacturing sector. Currently, Proconco is the second largest livestock and aqua feed manufacturer in Vietnam by volume. Proconco offers a wide range of high quality feed products for pigs, cows, chicken, ducks, quails, fish and shrimp.
