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Cargill grows its footprint in Vietnam

From its breath-taking beaches and rivers to its bustling cities, Vietnam is widely known for its abundant natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, says America’s largest privately held business Cargill.

Today, the country – shaped like a long letter ‘S’ stretching 1,000 miles from China in the north to the Gulf of Thailand in the south – is also one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia.

Cargill continues to grow its footprint in Vietnam said industry analysts gathered at a recent conference sponsored by the Vietnam Animal Feed Association in Ho Chi Minh City discussing the state of affairs of the industry.

Cargill late last year unveiled plans for a new US$30 million animal feed mill in Binh Duong province and a US$10 million agreement with Saigon International Terminals Vietnam (SITV) for dedicated grain and oilseeds warehousing facilities in Phu My.

In addition, as part of its community outreach programs, the company has committed to building 25 more schools across rural Vietnam by 2020 after having fulfilled its initial goal of building 75 schools by 2015.

The latest school, located in Phu Xuyen district, was inaugurated by Cargill Chairman and CEO David MacLennan on November 17, 2015.

 “Vietnam represents a very important market for us globally and presents clear growth opportunities,” said MacLennan. “This year, we celebrate 20 years in the country during which we have leveraged our access to global markets and 150-year industry expertise to help contribute to the development of agriculture here,” he said.

Expanding in animal feed

The new animal feed mill in Binh Duong will be operational in the first half of 2017 and will have a total capacity of 260,000 metric tons per year. It will incorporate the latest technologies currently available in the industry and will bring Cargill’s total number of animal production facilities in Vietnam to 12.

In October 2015, Cargill announced the construction of an animal feed mill in Nghe An – that will begin operations in the first half of 2016 – and a US$7 million expansion of its existing feed mill in Dong Thap.

The company currently has 10 animal feed mills that produce compound feed for livestock and aquatic species, and one facility in Dong Nai that produces premix animal nutrition ingredients to feed manufacturers and vertically integrated producers.

Serving customers with an integrated supply chain

As a leading supplier of grain and oilseeds in Vietnam, Cargill delivers an integrated supply chain solution to its customers.

The agreement with Saigon International Terminals Vietnam entails 80,000 metric tons of warehousing facilities at the SITV port in Phu My. This will facilitate the storage and distribution of grains and oilseeds for Cargill’s customers, giving those customers a distinct competitive advantage.

The main grain and oilseed products Cargill supplies to its customers in the country – including animal feed producers, integrated fish processors, food and beverage manufacturers and flour millers – are soy bean meal, wheat and sugar, as well as corn, copra meal and canola meal.

75 schools and counting

The opening of Cargill’s 75th Vietnamese school in Phu Xuyen district was a festive celebration. CEO MacLennan spoke at the event. “Giving back to the communities we live and work in is in our company’s DNA,” he said. “Every child deserves an education and what our Vietnam team has achieved with their school building initiative is nothing short of remarkable.”

The school building program is led by Cargill employee volunteers and aims to provide better educations to less privileged children in rural Vietnam.

To date, the company has raised more than US$3.8 million for the program, and more than 13,000 children have benefited.

Source: VOV