De Heus is ready for the future with new Vietnam plant

By Ad Bal

It doesn’t need much explanation that Vietnam has had a turbulent history from the 1950s to 1970s. But the country has picked up in the past decades and seems to be moving ahead. It has a relatively young population of by around 90 million and prosperity is on the increase.

As a result, there is strong focus on food production. Traditionally, pork is taking the lead in Vietnam, but also poultry is on the increase. And aquaculture of course. Currently the share of livestock production in Vietnam within the agricultural sector, is about 27%. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the objective is to achieve a 40% share in 2020 through a comprehensive set of government supported measures.The increase in animal feed production over the past years reflects the increase in animal production. Currently, there are 240 animal feed plants in Vietnam, with a combined estimated annual capacity of around 10 million tonnes of feed. In the first half of 2010, these factories together produced 4.9 million tonnes of animal feed – very close to full capacity. The commercial feed market has been growing strongly, enjoying a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 16% between 2005 and 2009, and continued strong growth is expected in the coming years. Due to this increase, the demand for raw materials surpassed supply. By 2020, Vietnam is expected to need around 15 million tonnes of animal feed to meet domestic demand.

Logical theme
This increased demand for animal feed took Dutch feed manufacturer De Heus to Vietnam. “We believe in growing economies in developing countries such as here,” says general director Gabor Fluit of De Heus in Vietnam. “It has a young and growing population and through our presence in this country, we can fill this growing demand. At De Heus we can offer added value through our broad based knowledge and experience. Through our education programmes and extension service at farm level, we believe that we can reach producers and help them increase their productivity.

In order to fulfill our objectives, we first acquired two independent feed plants in 2009. These were primarily serving pig, and to a lesser extent, poultry producers. Still two-thirds of our activity here is in pig production. However, last year we have also acquired a specialised fish feed plant. And most recently we have built a brand new plant with an annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes. Last year we increased production from 110,000 to 155,000 tonnes. This year we estimate to reach 250,000 tonnes, which to a large extent is thanks to our new plant of course.”

Best available
“In our new plant we have brought together the best which is available on the market nowadays,” Gabor Fluit continues. “We believe in the specialism of individual suppliers. For that reason we have amongst others, chosen a hammer mill from Van Aarsen, a mixer from Dinissen and pelleting technology from PTN. Most of these originate from our home country the Netherlands. Traditionally we have close contact with these companies, so choosing them was logical. Not just that, they supply good quality and reliable technology which is essential for us. We cannot afford a breakdown. The building itself, conveyors and automation technology have been supplied by local companies, however. We expect to be in full production in the course of this year. We don’t have the objective to become a full integrator. In general, our customers are independent small size producers whom we supply with either compound feed or ingredients and premixes. We assist them through our service team on a regular basis. If there’s a good reason, we can team up with a breeding company. But this will just be to support our customers. Our objective is to supply animal feed and knowledge, that is our skill. And we are confident that by opening our new plant in Vietnam, we are ready for the years to come,” Gabor Fluit concludes.

Source: AllAboutFeed 20.5