Businesses join hands to consume lychees, farm produce

A linkage model between businesses of different strengths was initiated to help farmers consume lychees and farm produce.

Kao Sieu Luc, ABS Bakery's General Director made the world's  first bread from dragon fruits. Photo: Nhan Ma.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) always supports enterprises linking  together to consume agricultural products. The MARD is focusing on promoting the linkage model to form farm produce supply chains for domestic and international markets.

Through the chains, it will contribute to orienting production in association with consumption, increasing the value of agricultural products and income for farmers.  

A group of businesses including Grove Group Corporation, Lavifood and  ABC Bakery joined hands to consume farm products under a new and interesting model.

According to Ho Mai Ho, Deputy General Director of Grove Group, the idea of linking businesses to boost the consumption of agricultural products came up when the leaders of three companies met while accompanying Van Thinh Phat Group, the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Fatherland Front  sending 20,000 sets of gifts including meals and fruits to the Covid-19 frontline staffs.

Besides supporting the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the three leaders of these companies are interested in how to help farmers who are facing challenges in finding  markets for their products in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic such a Bac Giang lychees, Vinh Long purple sweet potatoes.

As a business specialized in trading and distributing fruits, Grove Group realized that if the company alone couldn't help farmers consume agricultural products, especially for fresh fruits they can buy a small quantity.

Therefore, the company have to link with businesses specializing in processing agricultural products to boost up the consumption.

Meanwhile foods and agricultural product processing is the strengths of Lavifood and ABC Bakery. The two enterprises actively took part in the consumption of farm produce in the difficult time due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Lavifood is a firm specializing in processing juices from vegetables and fruits and dried fruits. Last year when dragon fruits faced challenges in consumption because China restricted trading to control the Covid-19 pandemic, Lavifood bought a large amount of dragon fruits to put into processing with products such as 100% natural dragon fruit juice, dried fresh dragon fruits, chopped, frozen and packaged dragon fruits for exports.

ABC Bakery is an enterprises specializing in making breads and cakes. In 2020 when Vietnamese agricultural products face difficult time due to the restriction of trade with China because of Covid-19, with the hope to share difficulties with farmers, Kao Sieu Luc, ABC Bakery's general director made the world's first bread from dragon fruits.

Only in the first half of 2020, over 40,000 loaves of dragon fruit breads were put up for sale at the market priced at VND 6,000 per loaf.   

ABC Bakery's initiative has inspired the production of many other food products such as dragon fruit pizza, watermelon vermicelli, dragon fruits rice paper praised by many international news agencies for the creativity and the spirit of mutual support of the Vietnamese people in tough times.

With their own strengths, the three companies decided to link together to improve the quality of agricultural products , first of all lychees. Accordingly, the group of the three enterprises joined hands and committed the consumption of 40 tons of Bac Giang lychees.

Under the plan, the first container of lychees weight 24 tons departed from Bac Giang on June 13 and about to arrive at Lavifood's factory in Tay Ninh on June 15.

Grove Distribution, a member of Grove Group will undertake the transportation and distribution of 400 tons of lychees from the North to the South.

Ho Mai Ho shared: "Grove Distribution will transport and distribute fresh lychees to the wholesale and retail channels under the Grove Group's business network.

At the same time, Lavifood and ABC Bakery will join hands to develop the typical products adding value to lychees and giving more choices to customers."

Through these activities, the group of linked businesses also wants to raise the spirit if mutual support  of the Vietnamese people, accompanying lychee growers in Bac Giang overcoming difficult time due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  It doesn't stop there, the group of linked businesses will expand to other types of farm produce that are facing difficulty in finding market such as purple sweet potatoes.

Recently, ABC Bakery has successfully developed breads made from purple sweet potatoes with a number of nutrient value from this agricultural product.

The meaningful activities of this group of businesses not only helped increase the consumption of agricultural products through retail and wholesale channels but also added values to the products via intensive processing. The initiative was welcomed by the leader of the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development to facilitate replication of the model.