An Important Shift in Vietnam's Food Processing Industry

Vietnam's food manufacturing and processing industry has made important contributions to industrial and economic growth. According to the figures reported in the article, its industrial production index grew by an average of 7% per year over 2016–2020.

Key figures

• Share: food processing accounts for 19.1% of the production value of Vietnam's manufacturing and processing industries, the highest share among them.
• Enterprises: by 2020, more than 7,500 industrial-scale agricultural processing enterprises linked to exports, with a total capacity of about 120 million tons of raw materials per year (Ministry of Industry and Trade).
• Growth by year: 2016 up 8.2%, 2017 up 6%, 2018 up 8.2%, 2019 up 7.9%, and 2020 up 4.5% due to the impact of Covid-19.
• First four months of 2021: the industry's production index rose 7.1% year on year. Processed seafood rose 3.3%, fresh milk 5.6%, powdered milk 18.1%, livestock feed 9.2% and aquaculture feed 3.2%.

Structure of the industry

Food processing companies make up almost 1% of all enterprises in Vietnam, yet generate more than 20% of the net revenue of the manufacturing and processing industries each year. Fruit and vegetable processing has the most enterprises, while frozen seafood processing employs the most workers.

Investment and outlook

The article notes strong interest from foreign investors, citing deals such as CJ Group (Korea) acquiring 65% of Minh Dat Foods and 47.33% of Cau Tre Export Goods Processing, Daesang Corp (Korea) acquiring 100% of Duc Viet Foods, and Earth Chemical (Japan) acquiring 100% of A My Gia. Economists quoted in the article recommend that Vietnamese companies invest in modern equipment and technology, build their brands, and that raw-material growing areas be planned through closer links between provinces, farmers, manufacturers and authorities.

Source: figures as reported in the Vietnamese-language article published on this website on 29 November 2021; the capacity and enterprise figures are attributed in that article to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Vinh Nam Anh Co., Ltd. supplies food additives and ingredients for food manufacturers. Contact: Ms. Hồng 0919.122123 – Hotline 0916.348319.